


mellifluous

by yearofthemoo



Category: Mamamoo, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Gen, M/M, and by what he wants i mean wheein, bratty spoiled taehyung who always gets what he wants, btsmoo, foxspirit!taehyung, like a lot of fluff, wheetae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24048748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yearofthemoo/pseuds/yearofthemoo
Summary: Jung Wheein is just a young girl when she rescues and cares for what she thought was a stray puppy, until the animal mysteriously disappears one day, leaving behind a single collar bell. Several years later, a fox spirit prince by the name of Kim Taehyung shows up at her door, determined to make Wheein his bride.warnings: tooth-rotting fluff, hella cuddling, just a lot of soft boi hours + my weird humor
Relationships: Jung Wheein/Kim Taehyung | V, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "she was the mellifluous verse of his serenade  
> which he always desired to create.  
> it was his reflection  
> in every words of her poem.  
> when the two met  
> her poem became his serenade." 
> 
> -shaon

The harsh pounding of a fist on her front door is what scares Wheein awake as she blearily opens her eyes and looks around in confusion. It's still dark outside so she can't really discern what time it is. She reaches over towards her nightstand to check her phone, the glaring artificial light of her home screen flashing in her face and making her flinch at the brightness. 4 AM.

Who the fuck is knocking at her door at four o'clock in the freaking morning?!

One thing's for sure. Whoever it is is about to get a piece of her mind. Thank god her other three housemates were all out who knows where and didn't return to the house last night.

The pounding at the door starts up again and Wheein mutters a string of curses under her breath as she reluctantly crawls out of bed, floundering around for a moment in the dark before finally making her way out of her room and to the front door, where she can hear muffled speaking on the other side.

"Your Highness!" a flustered sounding male says outside of the door as Wheein tries to peer through the peephole, which unfortunately is a bust as there seems to be something blocking the hole. "We need to leave! You- you can't just show up at a lady's house like this in the human world!"

Wheein furrows her brows, rubbing at her eyes in bewilderment. Human world? She must still be half awake.

"Nonsense, Sejin," another much deeper and huskier voice replies cheerfully, "I've missed her for so long, I'm sure she wouldn't want for me to delay our reunion any longer than it already has been!"

Wheein fumbles with the lock, struggling to blink the sleep out of her eyes. Upon hearing her unlocking the door, the two voices outside fall to a hush and she slowly cracks the door open, peeking out cautiously. "Umm, hello? Can I help you two?"

She almost chokes at the sight of the male in front of her. If perfection could take on a human form, it would most certainly be this man. His ethereal facial features are only coupled with a pair of possibly the most beautiful eyes she's ever seen, twinkling as though they were cut from the brightest stars of the galaxy themselves.

The man's face brightens at the sight of her, plush lips lifting up into a boxy smile that has Wheein's heart stuttering. "Wheeinie!"

Wait a second.

How does this stranger Adonis know her name? This must all just be a lucid dream, there's no other explanation.

Before she can ask, much less get any other word in, the handsome man surges forward, pushing her door further open so as to pull her into his arms. Their bodies slot together almost like two puzzle pieces, fitting perfectly into one another as he tucks his chin over her shoulder and holds her tight, his nose grazing the outer shell of her ear and making Wheein shiver. It's far too intimate of a position to be in with someone you've just met, yet something about hugging this man just... feels right, like everything has fallen in place and she's right where she needs to. Wheein finds herself closing her eyes and curling her fingers into the sides of the stranger's sweater, clinging to him like her life depends on it.

An awkward cough from the other stranger is quick to bring Wheein back to reality, her cheeks burning as she wriggles and struggles until the man hugging her releases her from his hold and steps back, albeit with a reluctant pout.

"Sejin, you ruined our moment," he whines, puppy eyes growing big and watery and Wheein suddenly has the strangest urge to risk it all just to see him smile again.

"Your Highness," the other man huffs. "You know we barely had enough time to make this visit as it is. If you are tardy to Her Majesty's family brunch _again_ , I assure you she will not allow you to visit the human world for quite some time. Say what you came to say and we will return another day."

Your Highness? Her Majesty?

"Who-" Wheein splutters, completely baffled at the current situation. "What-"

"You're right, Eomma can be a real stickler for punctuality... Okay, Wheeinie!" the man turns back and takes both of Wheein's hands into his, grinning at her so cutely it renders her speechless once again as he squeezes her fingers in excitement. "Marry me!"

_WHAT._

Wheein gapes for moment, before frantically ripping her hands from out of his grip and without thinking, slams the front door back into their faces.

Lucid dreaming indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Your not-so-secret admirer is out by the front waiting for you again," Yongsun giggles as she all but skips into the back of the kitchen where the employees keep their belongings, the ends of her waitress apron fluttering behind her untied.

Wheein rolls her eyes and lets out a sigh as she folds her own uniform into a neat pile before placing everything into her backpack, shouldering the bag and clocking out since her shift has just ended. "I know, unnie. I'd have to be deaf to not hear him shouting for me when he came in earlier."

"I think it's quite sweet of him. I've never seen someone so shamelessly declare their undying love for someone as persistently as he has. He's been here how many times already?"

"More times that I can count," Wheein shakes her head, a small fond smile forming on her face despite the fact. "I was finally able to convince him that banging on our door in the middle of the night was unexceptable and not in the slightest romantic so you three will finally be able to get some sleep now."

Yongsun laughs. "It wasn't that bad for me, to be honest. I always sleep so deeply I never really heard a thing. I don't know about Hyejinnie but I only realized something was up when I found Byulyi drinking three times as much coffee as she normally does to make it through the day."

Wheein cringes as she recalls how prominent her other housemate's dark circles have been the past few days and makes note to treat the older to a meal in the near future in apology. "I'll make it up to her one of these days. I'm just glad that the neighbors didn't call the police on him."

"Why? Bad boys not your type?" Yongsun waggles her eyebrows jokingly, making Wheein snort.

"Receiving a noise complaint citation is far from what I would consider being a bad boy," Wheein chuckles and waves back to the other as she heads out past the kitchen doors and back into the main area of Magnolia Cafe. "Bye unnie! Have a good shift, see you later!"

"Not if Taehyung has anything to say about it!" Yongsun calls back between giggles, as though there is even the slightest chance of Wheein somehow agreeing to go along with Taehyung's multiple propositions of them getting married and running off together to god knows where.

Wheein's only response is to spin around and stick her tongue at the elder before the doors swing close, but as she turns back, she finds herself immediately lifted into a familiar set of arms, her face pressed tightly into a firm chest. "I- euargh! Taehyung, let me go! I can't breathe!"

"Wheeinie, what took you so long?" the boy whines impatiently, swinging a flailing Wheein around and taking absolutely no notice of the other gaping customers in the vicinity. "I've been waiting for so long but you never came out."

"I had work!" Wheein takes a deep gasping breath as soon as Taehyung loosens his grip, giving her a chance to surface from air. While he always smells quite nice, being smothered to death by the good-looking man in front of her is not exactly the way she wants to go out of this world. "I can't just come out to see you whenever I please when I'm on shift."

As they make their way towards the exit, Taehyung holds his hand out to her, his lips pursed in their usual pout that he knows she has yet to figure out how to resist. With a sigh, Wheein acquiesces rather easily this time, slipping her closest hand into his and interlacing their fingers tightly like she knows he wants her to. The bright grin that stretches across his face every time she does never fails to make her heart flutter a little faster in her chest. Totally worth it.

"If you married me, you would never have to lift a single finger to do work for as long as you live," Taehyung insists with far too serious of a face for someone swinging their interlaced hands together as they stroll down the streets. Ever since pounding at their door in the middle of the night to profess his undying love for Wheein was deemed off limits, Taehyung has taken it upon himself to escort her home from work everyday, no matter the time of day. Wheein has already explained to him multiples times that their district is as safe as one could get, but according to Taehyung's reasoning, letting her walk home alone gave someone else a chance to propose and potentially spirit her away from him.

Wheein almost rolls her eyes at just the ridiculousness of that thought. "Tae, I'm not going to take advantage of your royalty or status of whatever it is you possess in the fox spirit world. That's both terribly unethical of me and I would feel horrible."

"But you're not opposed to marrying me!" Taehyung crows in far too much excitement, eyes sparking as though Wheein had gotten down on her own goddamn knee and proposed right then and there.

"That- That's not what I meant!" Wheein sputters, feeling her own face heat up in embarrassment. Taehyung pays no mind to her protests, so ecstatic that his previously concealed fox ears pop up in all their glory, wiggling happily around atop his fluffy head of hair. "Oh my god- Taehyung, hide your ears! What if someone sees?!"

It didn't take very long after the fox spirit prince's first marriage proposal to Wheein for her to realize that she had gotten herself into some crazy ass shit. Following what she thought had been an incredibly wild dream, Wheein soon found out that Taehyung was in fact very real, and not at all human. Apparently several years when he was younger, he had snuck out of the palace and into the human world on accident while trying to skip his tutoring lessons. Unable to find his way back, he soon found refuge after some fucking idiot (read: Wheein) mistook him as simply a weird looking stray puppy, taking him in and caring for him for several weeks until the fox spirit authorities or whoever they are were able to locate and bring him home. At the time, Wheein had simply thought the pup had run away, leaving her rather heartbroken and confused at the collar bell that she had no recollection of that was left behind, but it turns out that he had been banned from returning to the human world by his worried sick mother, the fox spirit queen, until he completed all of his studies.

From what Taehyung has told her, Wheein was and is his saving grace and he is now determined to have her hand in marriage after seeing how caring she was when he was lost and afraid. She also apparently gave little baby fox Taehyung some of the best cuddles he has ever had in his life and he left the bell as a way for him to find her once again after completing his studies. Wheein thought that the rest of the royal family might have some, _any_ objections to the young prince's life goals but it seems that the king, queen, Taehyung's older brother and the crown prince Kim Namjoon, and his brother-in-law Kim Seokjin all had no issues with his pining for a human girl, Seokjin even going as far as sending Wheein a wedding dress and lingerie in the mail, the little shit.

Hyejin had laughed her ass off for days and the gifts were now stored away in the deepest recesses of Wheein's closet.

After several more minutes of failed coercing and eventually threatening to marry someone else, Wheein is finally able to get Taehyung to hide away his fox ears once again. The prince's face is one of deep distress, bottom lip wibbling as he focuses an expression akin to that of a kicked puppy's on Wheein. "You wouldn't really marry someone else, would you Wheeinie?"

"I'm not trying to marry _anyone_ right now, Tae," Wheein says honestly, feeling Taehyung's grip on her hand tighten at her words. "I'm sure there are plenty of other pretty fox spirits back in your kingdom that would be more than willing to marry you right now. You shouldn't wait for me if time is an issue."

"No, it has to be you!" Taehyung stomps on the sidewalk like a child throwing a tantrum. "It's not a matter of time, I just- I just-"

His cheeks begin to turn a rosy pink and he looks down in a bashful manner, as though he hasn't been openly proposing to Wheein for the past week. "I just want to marry you _so bad_ , you know? I just can't wait for you to be my wife."

Wheein gapes at the other, speechless. She stutters incoherently for a moment, before reaching over with her free hand to flick at Taehyung's forehead.

"Ow!"

"Don't say stuff like that," Wheein mutters, her heart pounding and face burning at his words. "It's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous, it's the truth- ow! Stop assaulting your fiance like this! Do humans always do this to people they love?"

"You're not my fiance!"

"But you admit you love me?"

"I- why you little-!"

"Taehyung and Wheein, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N- ow!"


	3. Chapter 3

"No."

Taehyung lets out a whine of loud displeasure, kicking at the air in a childlike manner from his spot sprawled out across the couch in Wheein's living room. "But why not?"

Wheein crosses her arms with a soft huff, rolling her eyes at what has recently become a very routine part of her life. It seems that in the fox spirit kingdom, what the prince whined for, he always got. In the human world on the other hand, it seems as though the one and only thing (or rather person) he could possibly whine for is just out of his reach. "Tae, you've proposed to me just about every day since you came pounding on my door that one night. What makes you think I'm going to change my answer anytime soon?"

"I thought you were just testing my dedication to our love according to human traditions to ensure I was a worthy spouse," Taehyung mutters with a pout, playing absentmindedly with his white fluffy fox tail that has made its untimely appearance. Fuck, Wheein still hasn't figured out how to resist either that pout or that tail of his. Something about the way he hugs his tail to himself and stares at her with those signature puppy eyes has her immediately giving in to just about any one of his demands, other than marrying him of course.

She groans openly at him, knowing he's doing all of it on purpose. "You're playing dirty, Tae."

"If you refuse to marry me, the least you can do is give me snuggles," Taehyung grumbles cutely, holding his arms open in anticipation. Wheein acquiesces without too much complaint, knowing that she'll be fighting a losing battle even if she decides to resist. Besides, it's been a long day and she could use the skinship. Hyejin has been busy with a project at her workplace and they haven't been able to cuddle and watch a movie together in ages.

She shuffles over shyly, still a bit put off by the fact that someone as handsome as Taehyung is simply lying on her living room couch, fox ears and fox tail all out as he patiently waits to snuggle with her. They've done it once or twice before in the past at Taehyung's insistence, but Wheein is still having trouble adjusting to what still at times feels like a crazy dream. "I- Are you sure you don't want to just like talk or somethi-euagh!"

In a bout of impatience, Taehyung reaches over and grabs hold of Wheein by her waist, tugging her harshly on top of him with a loud oomph. He nuzzles his face into the top of her head, tussling her hair around haphazardly. "Less second guessing, more snuggles."

"I-" Wheein can feel her face heat up in embarrassment simply at their proximity. As much skinship as Taehyung gives her half the time he's around, she's basically laying on top of him in their current position, much more intimate than most of their other interactions. What's probably the most puzzling about the whole situation is just how much Taehyung simply feels like _home_. Once the embarrassment has subsided, Wheein can't help but find herself getting a bit more comfortable, turning her head to the side so as to rest her cheek against Taehyung's firm chest and letting out a content little sigh.

Taehyung's chest rumbles with laughter at the sound she makes, one arm wrapping loosely around her and resting on top of her lower back, as though to prevent her from leaving. "Cute."

"Shut up, I'm not cute," Wheein's brow furrows when she feels the vibrations of Taehyung chuckling. "I'm not!"

"You're the absolute cutest," Taehyung all but coos, his other arm reaching up to stroke softly at Wheein's hair. Wheein subconsciously leans into his touch, like a kitten asking for more pets. "My cute little queen."

"Not cute and not your queen." Wheein grumbles halfheartedly in protest, eyelids struggling to stay open as she slowly but surely finds herself being lulled to sleep by the sound of Taehyung's heartbeat, a slow but steady rhythm that beats only for her.

* * *

_Click!_

"Ah- fuck! Namjoon, I told you to put your goddamn phone on vibrate before you took the picture!"

"Sorry babe."

_Click!_

"How the hell did you manage to turn flash on instead of putting the phone on vibrate?! Here- give me that-"

Wheein finds herself waking up to the sounds of unfamiliar voices around her, which is strange because she was in... her house... Oh god.

Her eyes fly open in panic as she shoots straight up, looking around frantically for the intruders that have broken their way into her home. At the sound of a low wheeze from beneath her at her sudden movement, the memories from earlier that day all come crashing down on her. She looks down wide-eyed at a sleepy-looking Taehyung, who seems to show absolutely no concern at the sudden presence of two strangers wrestling on the ground near them for what appears to be a smartphone. Which can only mean one thing...

"You-" Wheein sputters, pointing at the men indignantly. "Do none of you fox spirits understand the meaning of privacy?!"

The two men on the floor pause in their struggle turning to look at her.

"Hello sister-in-law!" The male all but sitting atop the other waves happily at her, dressed in an oversized pink sweatshirt and the apparent winner of the struggle. "I noticed that you have hidden all of my gifts in the far back of your closet. Were they not to Taehyung's liking?"

Wheein feels all of the blood drain from her face in horror. Taehyung who is still laying on the couch underneath her turns to look over at who is most certainly Kim Seokjin sitting comfortably on top of Kim Namjoon on Wheein's living room floor in confusion. "To my liking? What gifts?"

"Out!" Wheein screeches before anyone has the chance to say anything else, scrambling out of Taehyung's lap. "All of you, out!"

"Wheeinie-"

"Sister-in-law-"

"Out!" In a surge of adrenaline, Wheein somehow finds herself manhandling and forcing all three fox spirit men out of her door, swiftly closing the door in their faces in an all too familiar manner. She lets out a deep sigh in relief, turning around to lean against the door and catch her breath.

Just what exactly has she really gotten herself into?


	4. Chapter 4

After taking a moment to take a breath to calm down and process the most recent events, Wheein decides that kicking the crown prince of the fox spirit kingdom out of her home may not have been her best idea and eventually invites them back inside for some complimentary tea.

"I apologize for frightening you earlier with our sudden appearance," Namjoon lowers his head in apology as Wheein pours the freshly brewed tea into their teacups. It's absolutely insane to think that the man in front of her who's this calm, this sophisticated and well-spoken is even remotely related to the one clinging tightly behind her, Taehyung's chest fully pressed against her back as though they were stuck together with super glue, "I looked away for just a second to confirm we had gotten the right address and by the time I turned around, Seokjin had already picked the lock and made his way into the house."

Wheein makes a note to discuss investing in a better home security system with her housemates in the near future before glaring at said offender who is happily sipping away at his tea, completely unaware of his very invasive and very illegal actions. "You didn't even think to maybe knock before breaking and entering into my house? I'm not the only one who lives here, what if one of my housemates called the police on you?!"

Seokjin sniffs haughtily. "We're family, I didn't see the need to knock. If you broke into my home, not only would I welcome you with open arms, but I would also congratulate you for such a feat."

"You live in a gated palace with guards at every post!" Wheein sputters indignantly. "If I made it past the first line of security without being shot down, I'd be considered lucky! And- And we're not family!"

"Yet," Taehyung helpfully supplies, his chin resting comfortably atop of Wheein's head and his arms still wrapped tightly around her midsection.

"Yea- wait, no!" Wheein swings her arm back, elbow digging sharply into Taehyung's ribcage, the fox spirit prince letting out a low wheeze upon contact. "Stop putting words in my mouth, Tae!"

Namjoon can't help but laugh at the kicked puppy look on Taehyung's face. Never has he seen his spoiled baby brother work this hard for something (or rather, someone). He stands up from his spot on the couch and bows quickly. "I just realized that I never got the chance to formally introduce myself. My name is Kim Namjoon, Taehyung's older brother."

He reaches over to gently grasp Wheein's dominant hand in his own, leaning down to press a chaste kiss against the back of her hand in a polite and gentlemanly greeting. However, before Wheein gets the chance to properly respond, Taehyung is already smacking his brother's hand away, his expression rather stormy as he stares hard into Namjoon's eyes. "Hyung, don't you have your own partner to tend to?"

Wheein looks over to where Seokjin is in his own world, carefully blowing on his cup of tea, his lips most certainly more red than they should be. He most likely tried to drink the tea while it was too hot when no one was looking. Just... Just how exactly did this man manage to capture the crown prince's heart?!

Namjoon can't help but chuckle at how Taehyung takes Wheein's hand, the one he kissed earlier, and wipes at it with a childish pout as though to wipe away any sort of physical contact that isn't his. "It seems you've finally found someone you wish to protect with your entire life, Tae Tae. I'm proud of you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Taehyung huffs, refusing to loosen his hug on Wheein despite her quiet protests of it being too hot after tolerating his embrace for this long. He struggles for a second to keep her in his hold, spinning her around so that he can look down into her wide and doe-like eyes. A pretty dusting of pink has settled across the bridge of her nose and she quickly averts his gaze shyly after a few seconds. So cute, fuck. "I've wanted to be by her side for years."

"She's blushing," Seokjin coos at how Wheein buries her bright red face into Taehyung's chest, the human too embarrassed to look at anyone. Taehyung can't help but grin widely as she all but burrows herself into his front. "My adorable little sister-in-law."

"I'm not your sister-in-law!"

"Yet- ow! You were a lot cuter a few minutes ago when you were snuggling into my embrace!"

"Don't- don't say it like that!"

Namjoon and Seokjin take their leave soon after, promising to visit again when their schedule permits. Wheein can only hope they come by when she's home so her housemates aren't scared shitless by two random men breaking and entering into their house again. She's eventually able to separate herself from Taehyung after finally agreeing to allow him to stay for dinner, bustling around the kitchen to gather the ingredients needed.

She chances a glance up as she closes the fridge door and almost runs into a nearby cabinet when she sees Taehyung staring at her intently from his spot at the countertop above the sink, chin propped in the palm of his right hand. "What- Why are you staring at me?"

Taehyung doesn't reply at first, clearly lost deep in thought. Eventually, as she finishes chopping up the green onion, he speaks. "When we get married, I can sit in the kitchen and watch you everyday."

"Listen here, buddy." Wheein points the knife in her hand at him threateningly. "First of all, that sounded so creepy. Second of all, if you think I'm cooking for you everyday then you've got another thing coming. And we're not getting married! I'm only making you dinner because you're my guest right now and I don't want to order takeout."

Taehyung doesn't seem very intimidated despite the knife in her hand. "Don't take this personally, but I feel like I'm being threatened by a cupcake."

Wheein takes it personally.

"Cupcake?!" she seethes, setting the knife down temporarily and rolling her sleeves up her arms. She'd show him cupcake! "How about I serve you a knuckle sandwich if you call me a cupcake again!"

Taehyung doesn't even blink, just chuckles at her reaction and points his phone at her. There's the sound of a camera click as he smiles happily at the picture he's just taken before showing it to her. Her hair is tied in a loose bun behind her and her cheeks are puffed out angrily. Coupled with her pink Hello Kitty apron, she looks just about as threatening as... as a cupcake.

Wheein sighs in defeat.

"Fine," she huffs, turning back towards the stove to continue cooking. As she adds the seasoning, she can feel the all too familiar tickle at her nose from the pepper, sneezing several times in succession as a result. Before she can even open her eyes once again, Wheein feels herself being lifted up and over Taehyung's broad shoulders, dropping the spatula she had been using in surprise. "What- Taehyung! What the hell are you doing?!"

"I forgot how much weaker human's immune systems were than our kind!" Taehyung's voice is filled with panic, frantically rushing towards Wheein's bedroom. He tosses her onto her own bed like a sack of potatoes, and before she even gets the chance to ask what on earth he's doing, the fox spirit prince is swaddling her up into a cocoon made of her comforter and other blankets. "I can't lose you to something as deadly as the common cold!"

"I- what?!" Wheein shrieks, struggling uselessly against the blankets wrapped tightly around her. "I sneezed because of the pepper!"

"That's what they all say!" Taehyung all but sobs, continuing to bundle her up with whatever blankets he can find in her room. "I can't take any chances! I need to keep you warm!"

"It's the 21st fucking century!" Wheein hollers, but Taehyung pays her no mind. "I've gotten all my immunization shots this year, I'm fine! For fuck's sake, Taehyung, let me out! I didn't turn the stove off! If I die tonight, it'll be because I sweat to death under this heat trap you've got on me!"

"Don't worry Wheeinie, I'll go turn the stove off and make you some samgyetang." There's a determined glint to Taehyung's eyes. "You'll be better in no time."

"No, don't-" But it's too late, Taehyung already storming out of Wheein's room and back towards the kitchen once more. She tries to free herself once again without luck, essentially all of her body save for her face tightly trapped beneath the blanket prison he wrapped her in. "That idiot!"

"Lover's quarrel?" Hyejin's voice sounds from outside her room. "I just got back from work, what are you two lovebirds up to?"

"Oh thank god, Hyejinnie!" Wheein almost cries in relief. "Quick, get in here and let me out!"

"Let you out? Of wha- pft!" Upon seeing Wheein in her current state, Hyejin promptly falls to the ground laughing. "Oh my god- ha- what the hell?!"

"That's what I said," Wheein grumbles, this scene feeling all too familiar. Hyejin had basically reacted in the exact same way after she found about the whole Taehyung situation, not to mention when Seokjin had sent that god awful lingerie set. Just about anytime she gets into some shitshow involving Taehyung, it seems as though Hyejin's automatic reaction is to simply laugh at her. "I sneezed after seasoning something with pepper and he went into full blown panic mode, saying something about how I was going to die if I didn't stay warm."

"I- I don't know whether to aww at that or keep laughing," Hyejin giggles, wiping away the tears of laughter that she's already begun to shed. "You two are- are really something."

"Something doesn't even come close," Wheein rolls her eyes. "Now let me out, I'm about to die of heat stroke in my own goddamn bedroom."

"Oh no, I couldn't undo all of Taehyung's hard work." There's a mischievous sparkle in Hyejin's eyes. "I'll just let the doctor handle things from here and come check back in once you're better."

"You know damn well he isn't a- wait! Come back! Hyejin, you bitch! I'm going to kill you!"

"Love you too!"

Wheein needs new friends.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's going on? Why is there so much ruckus outside of Prince Taehyung's quarters?"

The gaggle of restless servants standing in the hallway all turn to look in the direction of the newcomer's voice, most of their previously panicked expressions relaxing upon seeing who has arrived.

"Oh thank goodness, Marquess Jimin!" The head maid immediately bows in the noble's presence, the rest of the servants quickly following suit. "Forgive us for the disturbance-"

"It's no problem," Jimin smiles gently, more interested in exactly what nearly half the palace's east wing staff is doing crowded in front of his friend's bedroom. "I'm just curious as to what you all are doing out here."

The head maid looks rather embarrassed, but explains the situation nonetheless. "Ah, well you see, his Majesty assigned some paperwork to Prince Taehyung to complete a while back, but because his Highness has been so busy traveling back and forth between here and the human world, he failed to complete the paperwork and as punishment, his Majesty forbade his Highness from returning to the human world until the paperwork is completed."

Jimin rolls his eyes at the ridiculousness of his friend's actions. As much as he loves Taehyung to death after all but growing up alongside the prince, his friend has always been terrible at time management and prioritization. It's a good thing his brother and crown prince Namjoon is pretty much the exact opposite. "And? Why are all of you standing out here like a herd of cattle?"

The head maid sighs, knowing that what she is about to say is going to sound absolutely absurd yet one hundred percent expected. "His Highness... didn't exactly take too well to his Majesty's punishment. He's locked himself in his quarters since yesterday and has refused any service of the kind. He hasn't left his room and has not eaten since. We were hoping that if more of us were here to plead him he may reconsider endangering his health in such a way, but all he says is that he wants to be with a 'Wheeinie'."

Jimin can't help but shake his head. _That fucking idiot_. "Thank you, you are all too kind. I will do my best to coerce him, so please, return to your stations and conduct your duties as per usual. Those that normally attend to his Highness regularly, feel free to take a break for now."

The servants all bow once more before taking their leave, and Jimin makes sure to wait a couple of minutes until he's sure all of them are out of earshot before stomping up to the door and pounding on it loudly with his fist. "Yah, Kim Taehyung! Don't you think you're too old for this kind of childish behavior?! How fucking old are you?! Is this the kind of example you want to set for future royalty?!"

There's a brief pause, before a muffled whine sounds from behind the massive decorated oak doors. "Go away, Jiminnie, I'm not in the mood to play."

"I'm not here to play with you!" Jimin pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I thought I'd stop by to say hi since I had some business here earlier but I show up and here you are acting like a child when you were the one that didn't finish your work!"

"I want Wheeinie," Taehyung all but whimpers.

"You can see her once you finish your goddamn paperwork!" Jimin seethes. "Didn't you see her just the other day?"

"That was too long ago!" Taehyung moans. "I want to see her _now_ and hug her and hold her hand and snuggle with her and-"

"Okay, ew, spare me the details of your all's physical intimacy," Jimin wrinkles his nose. "Your father's not going to let you leave until you finish your work. The longer you complain like this the longer it will take before you can see her again, you know that."

"I'm not going to do my work until I can see Wheein again!" Taehyung cries out loudly in rebellion, making Jimin roll his eyes. If there's one thing Taehyung inherited from his father and the current fox spirit king, it's his stubborn streak. "Give me Wheein or give me death!"

"You're so dramatic, oh my god. I know you have a stash of snacks in your closet so it's not like you're going to starve anytime soon, anyways!" Jimin crosses his arms. Arguing like this with the other for any longer clearly won't be of any use, but there's also no way he goes to the king himself to try and sort this out. He could run the problem by Namjoon hyung but knowing the older, he has probably already heard of the issue and simply doesn't have the time to deal will something as silly as this with all the training he has to get completed before his coronation ceremony. An idea suddenly crosses his mind. "Tae Tae."

"Hmm?"

Jimin takes in a deep breath. He can't believe he's actually suggesting this. He has better and more important things to tend to back home than this, goddamnit. But he also knows Taehyung like the back of his hand. He knows the prince is perfectly capable of completing the work if he simply tries, but growing up in a pampered environment has allowed him far too many opportunities to get what he wants, no matter how ridiculous the request. "If... if I go to the human world and bring Wheein back here, will you get your stupid fucking paperwork done?"

Almost immediately, the door in front of him is cracked open. Taehyung's hopeful face peeks out, his eyes shining in far too much excitement. "You'd do that for me, Jiminnie?"

Jimin resists the urge to roll his eyes again. "Tae, why would I suggest it if I wasn't going to do it?"

Taehyung throws the door open so hard it makes a heavy thud as it slams against the poor wall, his fox ears and tail wiggling happily as he all but hurls himself at Jimin to hug his friend. "Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Eugh!" is all that comes out of Jimin's mouth before Taehyung crashes into him, the two childhood friends toppling onto the ground. Thankfully the halls are lined with plush carpet. Jimin's own fox ears twitch in exasperation. "Geez, you're still a spoiled brat even after all these years."

"But you love me anyways," Taehyung sings, his mood a complete 180 from earlier. "Don't forget to remind Wheeinie when you go pick her up that she is my _everything_ and that I can't wait to see her!"

Jimin makes a gagging noise. "Fuck no, I'd rather die than repeat that to someone I'm about to meet for the very first time! Just tell her yourself when we return. You better get started on that paperwork once I head out or I'm sending her back immediately!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll start on the dumb paperwork," Taehyung grumbles as he scrambles up off the ground and helps Jimin back up, his tail drooping rather sadly at just the thought of having to do work before being able to see Wheein first. "Hurry up and go get her! The sooner you get her the sooner I can see her again!"

"Ugh fine, I'm going, I'm going," Jimin waves his friend goodbye before making his way back towards the palace's main parlour. As he crosses the pristine marble floor, a familiar voice stops him in his tracks.

"Jimin-ah, is that you?"

Jimin is quick to spin around and bow in greeting. "Your highness."

Namjoon lets out a sigh. "You know you don't have to do that unless there's others around, Jimin. Having you act all formal around me feels weird, you're practically my younger brother."

Jimin looks up to see the older and his husband Seokjin walking in his direction. "Jin hyung, hello!"

"Jiminnie!" Seokjin all but flies from Namjoon's side to pull Jimin into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in forever! How have you been?"

"Why didn't I get that kind of greeting?" Namjoon mutters under his breath as he watches the two talking, a fond smile on his face despite the fact.

"Good, just rather busy," Jimin throws them a tired but genuine smile. "I was here for some business earlier and thought I would stop by and say hi to Taehyung as well."

"Any luck getting him out of his room?" Namjoon snorts. "I heard the east wing servants were all just about worried to death trying to figure out what to do."

Jimin rolls his eyes. "He's the same age as me but acts even younger than Jungkook sometimes, I swear. He's practically obsessed with that human girl, Wheein. Only came out and promised to get started on his work after I promised I'd bring Wheein to come visit him here."

Seokjin's face lights up. "You're going to go to the human world to retrieve Wheein? I'll come with you!"

"Oh no you don't," Namjoon tugs his husband back by the collar of his shirt like a mother cat picking up her kitten. "If you break into her house again, I have no doubt she'll actually call the police on you and I'm not about to break you out of human prison. Besides, if you skip another meeting as important as this one like you did last month, Yoongi's going to be very upset."

"I don't want to go to the meeting today, it's going to be so boring," Seokjin whines. "And Yoongi has no right to complain, I've caught him falling asleep at a meeting on more than one occasion!"

Namjoon ignores the other's complaining and smiles at Jimin. "Thank you for doing this, I know you probably have better things to do than to go along with my brother's silly quest in wooing a human girl, but it's something- or rather someone he truly cares about deeply. You should probably take Jungkook with you though, I don't think Wheein will come here as willingly as you think."

"Wooing a human gir- you mean to say Taehyung hasn't even won over this girl's heart yet?!" Jimin sputters indignantly, his face turning red. "He- he said they've held hands and cuddled before! I thought- I thought..."

"They have a rather... interesting relationship." Namjoon muses, rubbing circles with his hand against the small of Seokjin's back to comfort his pouting husband. "I'll tell Jungkook to meet you by the south gates and you all can head out soon. If you excuse us, we need to go make our meeting. Yoongi hyung has been rather stressed with recent events and will not be too forgiving if we're late."

"I keep telling him to go out and get laid, but does he listen to me? _No,_ Mr. Workaholic- Oh, bye Jimin! Come by again soon and we'll schedule a time to sit down and talk properly alright?" Seokjin blows the younger an overdramatic kiss as Namjoon drags him away, making Jimin laugh.

It doesn't take too long for him to find Jungkook by the gates, and after a quick hug and brief moment of catching up, they head to the human world to an address provided by Namjoon, bless the man. It appears to be the middle of the night in the human world, and while Jimin does feel rather bad for intruding at such an inconvenient hour, he knows Taehyung's patience won't last long. Besides, it's not his fault that time flows differently in the fox spirit kingdom than it does out here in the human world.

"Nice house," Jungkook comments as they step up onto the front porch.

"It's pitch black out here, how can you even see what the house looks like," Jimin hisses, nearly tripping on one of the steps.

"I said it as a formality, stop exposing me, it's just the two of us here," Jungkook hisses back, before raising a fist and knocking on the door.

There's a brief pause of silence and Jungkook suddenly turns back to look at Jimin, eyes wide. "Wait, does this girl know that we're... not human?"

Jimin hesitates, his own eyes growing large in uncertainty. "Shit, I have no idea. Taehyung didn't exactly give me a chance to ask."

Jungkook starts to panic. "Hyung, what should I do? My ears and tail are all still out!"

"Hide them then, what else would you do, you idiot?! Hurry, before-"

The door suddenly swings open with an aggressive _whoosh_ , and both Jimin and Jungkook let out very manly shrieks of surprise, fox ears and fox tails still very much out in the open and very obvious as they grab onto one another in fear at the woman standing in the doorway. "Taehyung! For the last time, I told you that you need to stop banging on my door in the middle of the night! It's not romantic and Byulyi unnie- who the fuck are you guys?"

Jimin relaxes at the mention of Taehyung's name and at the woman's lack of surprise seeing a pair of fox spirits on her front porch. It seems she was aware of Taehyung's true identity after all. "Miss, are you Jung Wheein?"

Wheein crosses her arms and narrows her eyes at the two unfamiliar fox spirits at her door. They look to be around Taehyung's age, but you can never be too careful. "Depends, who's asking?"

"Who's- me. I'm asking." Jimin cocks his head in confusion.

Beside him, Jungkook throws a hand over his face and groans. "Hyung, it's a figure of speech, she wants to know who we are."

"Ah," Jimin rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Forgive me, my name is Park Jimin and this is Jeon Jungkook. We are friends of Taehyung. You see, he's been uh... tied down at the palace with some paperwork and wished to see you, so he asked me to come and bring you back to the fox spirit kingdom so he could be with you."

"What the hell- that brat! Just because I refused to go back with him that one time, he thinks he can-" Wheein runs a hand through her hair and huffs. "I'm sorry, but it seems you two have come here for nothing, I'm not going to the fox spirit kingdom all because that spoiled kid is whining for me again. Have a good night."

As she goes to close the door, Jungkook takes action. Before the door has closed all the way, he jams his foot in the doorway, preventing Wheein from shutting the door all the way. "You-"

Before she can react properly, the knight yanks the door back open and takes the human girl by surprise, wrapping his arms securely around her thighs and tossing her over his shoulder like a bag of rice. "I- hey! This is kidnapping!"

"Hyung, let's go before she wakes someone else up in the neighborhood."

"Are you two listening to me?! Put me down right now! You little-"

"Ow! She bit me!"

"I see, so this is what Namjoon meant," Jimin mutters to himself.

"Hyung, help me!"

"Kim Taehyung, you're dead meat the next time I see you!"


	6. Chapter 6

After another ten minutes or so of struggling against her captors, Wheein eventually finds herself falling asleep despite her rather uncomfortable position slung over Jungkook's shoulder, too exhausted from staying up the past few nights to put up more of a fight.

"She's quite pretty when she isn't giving us death threats," Jimin hums, peering at the human girl's sleeping face curiously as they make their way back to the fox spirit realm. "Very cute. I can see why Taehyung is so taken with her. She probably doesn't even give that spoiled prince the time of day most of the time given her attitude."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one whose hair almost got ripped out," Jungkook winces, reaching up to gently massage at his scalp with the hand that wasn't keeping Wheein balanced on top of his shoulder. "She may look like an angel now, but she's one hell of a scrappy fighter. I think I'm going to bruise where she bit me earlier."

"Don't let Taehyung see that, knowing him, he'll be jealous out of his mind," Jimin snorts, shaking his head in amusement. "She's such a small petite thing, I wonder if she's even tall enough to reach Tae's shoulders."

"You're one to talk, I wouldn't be surprised if she was taller than you- ow!" Jungkook stumbles as Jimin angrily slugs him hard in the arm. "Watch it! I'm carrying priceless cargo for the prince!"

"You ass, you know damn well I'm taller than her," Jimin hisses, quickly reaching over to stroke Wheein's hair and lull the stirring girl back to sleep. Wheein mumbles something incoherent and wrinkles her nose before going silent once more. "Oh my god, that was so fucking adorable. She's like a little kitten, reminds me of Yoongi hyung when he gets all sleepy. Except a lot less savage and grumpy."

"Careful not to get too attached to her, hyung," Jungkook chuckles softly, his sleek brown tail flicking around behind him in amusement. "Tae hyung has had this one in his sight for years now. Back when we took the same sword fighting lessons all he would talk about was this human girl that took care of him and how he couldn't wait to return to her side and be with her again."

"Maybe I should find a cute little human to court as well," Jimin sighs. "The fox spirits in the kingdom are all so lovely, but no one has yet to catch my eye in particular. Perhaps meeting Wheein is a sign telling me to search for someone in the human world."

"You better fucking not," comes Wheein's disgruntled murmur as she is slowly roused from her sleep by the conversation at hand. "It's bad enough one of you is wreaking havoc around in my neighborhood. Not all humans are going to take kindly to random men pounding on their doors in the middle of the night like I did."

Jimin crosses his arms and huffs. "First of all, Taehyung only found you because he left you his bell. Second of all, I'm not about to go around beating on people's doors like a creep until I find someone that captures my interest, I have more tact than that. _Third of all_ , you didn't even take that kindly to Tae his first visit! I heard you slammed the door in his face and he returned to the palace all mopey that evening."

Wheein's face colors as she sputters, "He asked me to marry him out of nowhere! What else was I supposed to do?!"

"If you had just said yes, I wouldn't be transporting you to the fox spirit realm this way," Jungkook grumbles, shifting Wheein around slightly to ease the weight off his shoulder for a moment.

"I don't know how you all conduct courting rituals in your kingdom, but in the human world, you don't agree to marry strangers you just met!"

"But you two have-"

"Yes, I know, Tae told me." Wheein rolls her eyes. "At the time, I thought he was just a weird looking stray puppy, and eventually he just disappeared out of the blue and left that little bell in my room. What would he have done if I accidentally threw it away?"

"It would have found its way back to you regardless," Jimin helpfully informs her, wiggling his fingers in her face. "Fox spirit magic and all that. You should have seen the royal council members' faces when they found out he had left a priceless heirloom of our species in the hands of some human girl."

"Priceless heirloom?!" Wheein shrieks, startling Jungkook and nearly making them both topple over. "That imbecile! Why couldn't he have left me with a pencil or something?!"

"Tae Tae is an artistic and passionately romantic soul as I'm sure you already know. There's no way on earth he would leave you with anything less," Jimin giggles. "Your all's wedding will probably be the biggest and most extravagant of the millennium if he gets his way, which he almost always does."

"Weddi- there's not going to be a wedding!" Wheein chokes, "why is everyone convinced that I'm going to eventually give in and marry that doofus?"

Jimin and Jungkook both fixate the same you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me expression at her.

"You... you've seen the way he looks at you, right?"

"I- what?"

"I haven't even seen you two interact before and I still know what Jimin hyung is talking about," Jungkook groans at just the thought. "Every time he starts talking about you he just gets this derpy ass smile on his face like he's won the freaking lottery or something. I'm not even joking when I say his eyes _sparkle_ in happiness."

As much as she wants to deny it, Wheein knows exactly what they're talking about. She started noticing it more recently, how every time Taehyung thinks she isn't looking when they're doing something together, he'll just stare at her with the softest gaze imaginable, as though he's the luckiest person on earth all because he's doing something as simple as standing next to Wheein as she shops for groceries. Like she's his everything.

And perhaps that's what she's truly scared of.

What if she just isn't good enough to be his everything? He's a _prince_ , for god's sake. An absolute child most of the time, but a prince nonetheless. And one of a species that Wheein hadn't even known existed until said fox spirit had come banging on her door for her hand in marriage that fateful night. Sure, the rest of his family seems fine with the idea of him being with a human girl, but what about the rest of the kingdom? She has no sort of etiquette training of any kind, no idea what to expect and what's to be expected of her.

Just the thought of arriving at the fox spirit realm, only to find herself rejected by the general population of Taehyung's kind makes her heart twist uncomfortably in a way that she doesn't understand, doesn't _want_ to understand. Because the implications of such a feeling would mean that somehow, amongst all the chaos and the handholding and the childish whining and the snuggling and the whirlwind of emotions that have come with the appearance of Kim Taehyung, she was foolish enough to fall for him.

The realization makes her pale in shock, and Jimin is all too quick to notice, eyes narrowing. "You- you're scared, aren't you? Your face looks white as a sheet. You're afraid that somehow all of this isn't real, or that Taehyung is just joking when he talks about a future with you."

"I- I am not!" Wheein replies far too quickly, flustered by the other's keen observation. "I'm probably just pale from all the blood rushing to my head after being carried like this for who knows how long!"

Jimin opens his mouth to protest her blatant lie, but is cut off by Wheein's squeak of surprise as Jungkook pauses to readjust and carry the girl bridal style. Wheein's eyes are wide as they look up at the fox spirit knight who is purposely looking anywhere but at the girl in his arms, a red flush creeping up his neck at their proximity as he mumbles embarrassedly. "This- this is just so you won't get lightheaded for the meantime. We'll be at the palace soon."

Wheein blinks. "Wait, we're already in the fox spirit realm? I- I'm sure you're tired, Jungkook-ssi, I can walk on my own."

"Oh no, I'm not about to risk you running off and getting lost somewhere in this kingdom because you're too scared to face your feelings." Jimin chimes in, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Besides, I'm sure seeing Taehyung seethe in jealousy is more than enough payment for taking the time out of my day to bring you here."

"Hyung, are you kidding me? There's no way I'm carrying her like this when we get to Tae's room, he'd actually _kill me_." Jungkook's eyes are blown wide in panic.

"Do I get any say in this?!" Wheein crosses her arms and glares at the two conversing.

"No, you're the one with the highest chance of survival if Taehyung gets mad," Jimin shushes her before looking at Jungkook with puppy eyes. "Come on, Jungkook! Don't you want to see what Taehyung's like when he's jealous? That spoiled kid probably has never felt envy a day in his entire life!"

"I do, but not when I'm the one in danger!" Jungkook protests. "He's going to put me in the hospital with how strongly tied his powers are to his emotions!"

"It'll build character!" Jimin insists, clearly determined to sacrifice the younger for the sake of his social experiment. Before Jungkook can refuse once again, the older of the two points in front of them. "Look, we're already here!"

Wheein turns and gasps at the size of the real estate before her. While most of the actual building itself is obscured by a white brick wall perimeter, what little she can see of the marble palace is enough to make her head spin. Taehyung lives in a place like this and still actively chooses to spend almost all of his time in her tiny shared house?! What the hell is wrong with him?

Their small party is currently walking along a bluestone pathway up to a set of twin gold colored gates, and as they get closer, she can't help but notice and squint at an all too familiar silhouette standing on the other side of the gates. "Is that...?"

She feels Jungkook freeze in complete terror, his arms stiffening under her lower back and legs as the other two realize just who it is watching them from several meters away from behind the gates.

"Oh my god, we're so dead."

* * *

Taehyung senses her presence the instant she enters the fox spirit realm. He feels it resonate deep within his soul, the restlessness rushing through his veins ebbing away as he lets out a deep breath, closing his eyes and smiling at the warmth flooding his chest.

_She's home._

He's quick to finish up the last of the documents his father assigned him, foot tapping in excitement as he thinks about all the places he's going to show her, all the foods he wants her to try while she's here. They won't have much time, as he knows she'll insist on returning to the human world for her work the next day. Despite knowing that he's of royalty and could give her just about anything she desired at the snap of his fingers, she still chooses to dedicate herself to her work and studies. It's something Taehyung loves most about Wheein, even if it prevents her from seeing him at times. He knows that she has other passions and ambitions, and even if he demands quite a bit of her time and attention, no matter how often she rolls her eyes at him or complains about his whining, he knows that she'll fit him into her life, whether consciously or not.

Once finally done with all his work, he calls for a servant to deliver the documents to his father at once to lift his ban from the human world as soon as possible. If the servant is fast enough, he'll be able to be the one to bring Wheein back to her home and find a new place to propose to her. Part of him is worried that she has simply become used to rejecting his proposals at certain locations since his options are limited. He has change things up, perhaps she'll say yes once out of the comforts of her own routine and upon seeing how handsome he looks in his royal robes.

"I wanna see her!" He whines out loud alone in his room to no one in particular, kicking his feet as he rolls around his bed in implatience. He suddenly stills, an incredible idea forming in his head.

Why doesn't he welcome her at the front gates?

It's a win-win situation, really. Not only will he be able to see her sooner, but he will also be able to maximize their time together here as well.

"I'm a genius!" he cheers, before barreling through his own bedroom doors and past a handful of confused and concerned maids. "Wheeinie, I'm coming!"

He makes it to the palace gates in record time, nearly bowling down several garden workers in the process as he rushes past them in a flurry of robes and pure chaotic energy. He presses his face excitedly between two bars of one of the gates, grasping at the thin metal poles and all but wagging his tail behind him. The knights standing guard by the entrance pay him no mind, already used to the second prince's eccentric behavior after their years of service to the king.

He's arrived a bit too early, as she hasn't come into view just yet, but he knows they're almost here, can sense her getting closer and closer by the second. He wonders how exactly Jimin managed to convince her to come visit him. He's begged her to return to the fox spirit realm for almost weeks on end yet she's always told him no. He fidgets around impatiently for a few more minutes, before his ears perk up at the sound of what he knows are Jungkook and Jimin's voices in the distance. They finally come into view, Wheein's adorable face settled in a soft pout as she... is carried in Jungkook's arms bridal style?

Taehyung sees red.


	7. Chapter 7

Almost immediately, Wheein finds herself being tossed out of Jungkook's arms by the younger like a hot potato and chucked into an unsuspecting Jimin's hold, the other instinctually catching the girl so as to prevent her from knocking him over. "What the- yah, Jeon Jungkook! You're playing dirty!"

"I'm too cute to die young!" Jungkook cries, anxious eyes trained on the figure before them that is currently scaling the golden gates in front of them despite the guards' warnings like a scene out of some horror movie. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me!"

"You traitor!" Jimin glares at the maknae of their childhood friend group. "Where the hell is your loyalty?!"

"Me?! You were just about ready to throw me under the bus just to see what Taehyung is like when he's jealous!"

"Yeah, and now no one is going to know what he's like when he's jealous because we're both about to get the daylights beaten out of us! I could have at least filmed it for you to watch later if you hadn't gone and chucked Taehyung's fiancé at me!"

"I'm _not_ his fiancé!" Wheein objects loudly, growing peeved at how she's being tossed around like a rag doll between two utter idiots. Her voice carries across the open space and her words only seems to fuel Taehyung in his current state and make him climb even faster to the top of the gates, jumping down and landing from an incredible height completely unharmed. "Holy shit, how is he not hurt?"

Jungkook panics and latches himself to Jimin's back, clinging to the shorter man for dear life. "Hyung, do something!"

"What? Are you kidding me?! You're the knight! Get in front of me and protect me like a man!"

"I'm not about to be your human shield! Besides, it's not like I can exactly raise my sword at the very person I'm supposed to be protecting!"

"Oh for fuck's sakes," Wheein rolls her eyes, having had enough of their ridiculous bickering. "Jimin, put me down. I'll handle this."

Surprisingly enough, the marquess complies and gently sets her down onto the ground. Her legs wobble for a second after being carried around for so long, but Wheein soon regains her balance once more and steadies herself before putting her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at the irritated fox spirit prince storming up to them. Behind her, Jungkook and Jimin are clutching onto one another, eyes wide in anticipation as their only hope for survival stands her ground against Taehyung.

The expression on Taehyung's face is something that Wheein has never seen before. His brows are drawn together, mouth twisted unhappily and he looks absolutely nothing like himself, like the carefree and easygoing Taehyung she knows. The prince is closing in on them, just meters away when Wheein holds her hand out and shouts, "Stop right there!"

To Jungkook, Jimin, and even Wheein's surprise, Taehyung halts almost immediately in his tracks, the edges of his royal robes fluttering gently back down to his side at the sudden lack of movement. Taehyung's sharp gaze is suddenly zeroed in on her, and Wheein blanks, saying the first thing that comes to her mind. She points at him. "Bad boy!"

_Oh my fucking god._

That was something she used to say to Taehyung back when she thought she was just taking care of a puppy. Taehyung, or V as she had fondly nicknamed him back then, was quite energetic and mischievous, sometimes a little _too_ energetic and mischievous. Now that she thinks back, any time she scolded him, he would almost immediately whine and tuck his tail between his legs, as though he knew exactly what was going on and what he had done.

Someone behind her chokes on their spit at her words, but it's too late to go back now. Wheein purses her lips and crosses her arms. "Bad Taehyung! How dare you send out your henchmen to kidnap me from my house in the middle of the night! And all because you got punished for not finishing your work!"

"Henchmen?! I am _not_ -"

Wheein cuts off Jimin's offended protest with the best threat she can think of at the moment. "I ought to... I ought to never cuddle you again!"

From behind her, she can hear Jungkook snort. "What kind of dumb fucking threat is tha-"

"Nooooo!" To the knight's shock (and horror), Taehyung is suddenly pressed against Wheein, long limbs wrapped tight around her as though she was his lifeline, not a trace of his previous intimidating aura of anger left. "Don't say that Wheeinie! I'll be good, I promise! I'll be so so good! I'll be the bestest ever! I'm sorry, I just missed you so much and I wanted to hold you again! Please don't be mad at me!"

"Tae, let go! You're hugging me too tight!"

"I'll never let go of you!" Taehyung cries, as though the mere thought of parting from Wheein at the moment would utterly destroy him. "Never!"

Jungkook and Jimin turn to look at each other, completely dumbfounded by what the hell has just happened. Their best friend and second prince, who is infamous for his violent and uncontrollable temper tantrums, just... surrendered almost immediately at the threat of no more cuddles?

"I'm dreaming," Jungkook says, absolutely stunned as he watches Taehyung continues to coddle Wheein and tell the human girl just how much he missed her, almost as if just minutes ago the prince wasn't ready to send Jungkook to the royal infirmary for carrying Wheein in his arms. "That's the only explanation. This has to be some sort of crazy dream."

"She has no idea just how much power she holds, does she?" Jimin breathes, eyes wide and mouth agape in awe. "She could snap her fingers and Taehyung wouldn't hesitate to gut a man for her if she wanted."

"I- what the fuck?" Jungkook narrows his eyes at his hyung. "Why was that your first thought?"

"If you two _girls_ are done gossiping over there, can one you come over and get Tae _off me_?!"

They look over to where Wheein is struggling to even stand properly with Taehyung hanging off of her, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

"You might as well be asking us to send ourselves off to our deaths," Jungkook snorts. "Our senses are slightly more attuned than a human's and since I was carrying you just about the entire way and Taehyung's powers are stronger than most fox spirits, he's probably just trying to get you back to smelling of him because he's much more aware of it."

"What?! Ew!" Wheein reaches over with a hand to try and shove Taehyung's face away from her, squishing his facial features and contorting them as he lets out an indignant squawk in protest. "You've been snuggling with me on the couch all this time just so I can smell like whatever cologne you're wearing?! If you thought I smelled gross you should have just told me to take a shower like a normal person!"

"PFT- That's-" Jimin has to try and stop himself from laughing before continuing. "That's not what Jungkookie meant. Just- you don't actually smell, it's more his way of uh... letting others know that you're under his protection."

"That's bullshit!" Wheein squirms as Taehyung desperately tries to plaster himself impossibly closer to her. "I'm not an idiot, this is your way of staking your claim on me like they do in those romance novels, isn't it?!"

"Yup!" Taehyung chirps happily without the least bit of shame, finally pulling back to take in Wheein's angry pout and the pink flush crawling up her face from their proximity. She's never looked more beautiful.

"Why you-" God, Wheein can't even stay angry at him because of the way he's looking at her, like she put the goddamn stars in the sky for him or something. Whether her heart is beating faster from the frustration or that very look is something she doesn't want to find out. "Who gave you permission to do that?!"

Taehyung coos. After getting to know her better over the past few weeks, he knows that as much as she acts like she's angry at him, she's quite harmless and doesn't mean most of it. "I did! If you'd like, you can do the same to me like you did when Namjoon hyung and Seokjin hyung came by to visit! After all..."

He leans in to gently boop their noses together with a boxy smile. "I'm yours!"

There is no doubt that Wheein's face is bright red by now. "When did I ever- wait a second, I wasn't scenting you! I was just embarrassed and hid my face while you were holding me! A- And you can't give yourself permission to make me yours, that's not how it even works!"

Jungkook shakes his head. "I wouldn't try and argue with Taehyung. I speak from personal experience when I say that even if you're right, you're going to be the one leaving the debate feeling like you lost. It's why his Majesty has Tae assist in a lot of business negotiations."

"Ah! Speaking of his work, Taehyung!" Jimin crosses his arms and stares at his friend who has taken advantage of the billowy design of his royal robes to wrap Wheein up in them and essentially hold her tight against his front under his outer layer of clothes. The human girl suddenly has a flashback to an all too familiar situation when she was swaddled into a cocoon of bedsheets not too long ago. "Did you finish your work that your father assigned you like you promised? If not, I won't hesitate to notify his Majesty and have Wheein sent back to the human world!"

"Oh thank go-"

"I finished it!"

"-ddamnit!"

"So if you'll excuse us," Taehyung gazes down at the human girl in his arms in pure adoration once more before looking back up to address his friends. "I'm going to go show Wheein around the royal grounds!"

"Oh cool! Well in that case, I can help you show her the- OOF!" Jungkook's innocent and utterly foolish offer is immediately cut off when Jimin elbows him hard in the ribs. "I- I mean we're both suddenly very busy and can't come, have fun!"

"So busy!" Jimin insists with an all too fake smile as he locks arms with the younger and drags him away, leaving Wheein to watch her last hope of escape leave her behind, still trapped under Taehyung's robes. She tilts her head back to glare up at the fox spirit prince holding her captive, and Taehyung can't help but beam at her attention.

"Let's get going, shall we?"


	8. Chapter 8

Wheein should have known this wasn't going to be an ordinary tour of the royal grounds.

She lets out a heaving sigh as Taehyung drags her under a cherry blossom tree in the palace gardens, already quite sure of what is about to happen. The fox spirit prince clears his throat shyly and peers into her eyes with a determined gaze, holding her hands tight in his own and repeating the same question he's already asked her five times today in their previous stops on the impromptu tour. "Wheein-ah, will you marry me?"

"Tae," The exasperation is evident in her tone of voice, as she sits down on the plush grass beneath them, Taehyung immediately following suit. "This garden is beautiful and all, but you need to stop proposing to me at every place you take me to see around the palace."

The pout that settles across Taehyung's lips is clearly a new tactic he hasn't tried out just yet, but it might just be the secret weapon he needs, because the longer Wheein finds herself staring at it the more she begins to wonder if saying yes could be all too bad. Then she remembers that _yes_ , it could be very much be that bad. She doesn't even want to get married, for fuck's sake. Curse that cute face and those disarming puppy eyes. "But- But-"

Wheein reaches up to fondly ruffle his hair, unintentionally grazing the set of fluffy fox ears that sit atop his head. The fox spirit prince lets out an involuntary shudder in pleasure, eyes closing and a soft happy whine slipping from between his lips as he leans in to encourage her to continue. "I'm very honored that you've chosen me, Tae Tae, but like I said, I'm not ready to get married just yet. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, one for someone you want to spend the rest of your days with. You have so much of your life in front of you, I don't want you to jump into this only to have regrets later on."

"I would never have any regrets! I want to spend the rest of my life with Wheeinie!" Taehyung insists, a soft rumble of happiness emerging from his vocal chords as Wheein continues to scratch lightly at the base of his ears. "Only Wheeinie can make me happy for the rest of my life!"

"Sweet talker," Wheein mutters. It seems using genuine human logic is a waste on the fox prince currently all but curled up in her lap to give her better access to scratching at his ears, his fluffy tail brushing up against her arm every now and then as it whips around in uncontrollable joy. Despite the mild exasperation in her tone, her gaze is fond as she cards his fingers through Taehyung's hair repeatedly. With the way he cherishes her, it really is too difficult to not fall a little deeper every time they meet. But Wheein is too cautious of a person, and every moment she spends with the fox spirit feels too fleeting, too good to be true. She needs more time to process, more time to trust. "You need to be patient, Tae. Humans... humans can be cowardly sometimes, afraid of the what-ifs of the future, of getting hurt. We're not as brave as you all, so willing to love and give your all to someone you care about. It's selfish of me to ask, but could you wait for me a little longer?"

"For you, I can wait forever." Taehyung murmurs sleepily.

Wheein's hand stills momentarily as her heart skips a beat at his words, before going back to running through Taehyung's tousled hair. "Thank you."

_Thank you for loving me._

* * *

"This- This is my room," Taehyung introduces shyly as he shoos the curious servants away with a wave of his hand in order to open the doors to his chambers himself, looking at Wheein expectantly for her reaction.

It takes all of Wheein's willpower not to coo at the other's actions. Whenever he's over at her place, he never fails to make himself at home and get comfortable. Yet it's almost as though he's done a complete one eighty at the moment as he shows her around the palace interiors, trying to gauge whether or not Wheein approves of the place. Upon actually entering his room, her eyes widen. "Holy shit."

Taehyung looks panicked as he looks back and forth between her and his chambers. "Is- Is it too messy? Too small for your liking?"

"Too small?!" Wheein can only gape as she stares at the room before her. "Taehyung, your bedroom is the size of my house!"

"Oh." Taehyung appears to have calmed down upon hearing her words. "So you don't hate it?"

"Why- Why on earth would I hate it?" Wheein's voice is filled with awe as she takes in the beauty of the architecture and interior design of the luxurious bedroom. A place like this in Seoul would probably cost millions, even billions of won. She's never stepped foot in a building so grand. "It's beautiful."

Taehyung lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god. I wasn't sure if we needed to move into a different chamber when you move in. I'm glad you like it!"

"... What?!" Wheein's shriek is shrill as she reaches over to slug Taehyung in the arm, cheeks flushed bright red. "Who said anything about moving in?! E- Even if I were to live here, I wouldn't be sharing a room with you!"

"Of course you would." Taehyung states in a matter of factly tone. "How would I cuddle with you if we were in separate chambers?"

"You-" Wheein sputters, "Don't say things like that so casually! What would happen to your reputation if you were caught saying things like that?!"

"Oh, don't worry about that. With his temperament and personality, it's not like he has much reputation left to protect in the first place," A snort of amusement sounds from behind them, the newcomer leaning with his arms crossed against the doorframe.

"Yoongi hyung!" Taehyung's face brightens upon seeing who their visitor is. He excitedly guides Wheein so they are standing together in front of the other, gesturing between the two. "Wheein-ah, this is Yoongi hyung. He's going to be Namjoon hyung's advisor once he's crowned as king! Hyung, this is-"

"I know who she is, you've only talked about her every time you see me." Yoongi rolls his eyes, but his tone isn't unkind, clearly holding affection for the younger prince. He bows and offers a gentle smile. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Miss Wheein."

"The pleasure is mine," Wheein nods with a smile of her own. "I'm sorry for showing up uninvited so suddenly."

"No, no, you're really doing us all a huge favor by being here." Yoongi shakes his head in what appears to be disbelief. "I can't even remember the last time our meeting went so smoothly since Taehyung finally did his part of the work. His Majesty was absolutely over the moon, said that your influence was unparalleled."

Wheein coughs in embarrassment, glaring at a guilty looking Taehyung. "I'm sure from now on, Taehyung will act more properly and finish his duties first like he should, isn't that right?"

"But I want-"

"If he doesn't, I simply won't speak to him ever again," Wheein finishes with a threat, gaze sharp as she looks at the other sternly. "Taehyung, not only does avoiding your duties look bad on your brother's reputation as the crown prince, but reflect poorly on other people's opinions on the human world and me. Do you want that?"

Taehyung's tail droops sadly. "No."

"Good. Then finish all your work before coming to see me, okay?" Wheein reaches up to pat him on the head gently. "You know I'll make time to hang out with you no matter what."

"Okay." Taehyung hangs his head but he lights up once Wheein takes the initiative to hold his hand, looking at her with a goofy smile on his face.

Yoongi is shocked. How much consoling and bargaining have him and the others in the palace had to do in the past just to get the spoiled prince to agree to the bare minimum of his duties? Yet all it took was some firm scolding and an affectionate gesture from a human girl to have him agree to doing all of his work promptly? "My god, if I had known he would listen to you so well, I would have invited you to the palace sooner."

"I'm flattered," Wheein giggles. "The next time you catch him slacking, just inform me and I'll make sure he regrets it."

"Nooooo, Wheeinie," Taehyung whines sadly, puppy eyes wide and imploring. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"This is for your good." Wheein reminds him. "You're not someone with all the time in the world, you're a prince and in a position of power, and with power comes responsibility. You need to be responsible for your duties and support Namjoon oppa."

"What about me? Then- Then that means you're in charge of my happiness! I'm only happy when I'm with you! You have to take responsibility for my heart!"

Wheein's face colors. "When was that my responsibility?! Don't say stuff like that in front of others!"

Yoongi lets out a short bark of laughter. "It's okay, Taehyung has always been quite shameless and spoken his mind, I'm quite used to his random outbursts."

"Even so," Wheein grumbles as Taehyung finds it absolutely necessary to take her in his arms as he hugs from tightly from behind, resting his chin lightly atop her head. "It's only a matter of time before he says or does something he shouldn't."

"There's nothing wrong with telling the world how much I care about you!"

"You almost fought a stranger when he held the door open for me!"

Yoongi's expression is warm as he watches the two of them interact and bicker. "You're good for him, Wheein-ah. Thank you for accepting him for who he is."

"I haven't-" The words of denial die on Wheein's lips. "I.... It's only natural. He makes it quite hard to dislike him."

"Mmm," Yoongi's eyes flash in amusement. "You'll make a great princess one day."

"Right?! Wheeinie will be the prettiest princess in the kingdom!"

"I- princess?! Who said anything about being a princess?!"


	9. Chapter 9

"I miss her already," Taehyung sniffles sadly from his position curled up on the chaise lounge couch in his brother's study, using Namjoon's closest thigh as a pillow to rest his head on.

"You came back from dropping her back off in the human world less than five minutes ago," Seokjin deadpans from his spot on a nearby loveseat, scanning through several official documents to help Namjoon out with his enormous workload. His glossy ears twitch irritably atop his head of fluffy black hair, tail swishing around behind him in impatience. Seokjin _hates_ paperwork.

But he likes Namjoon just a little bit more than he hates paperwork, so this is his own fault, he supposes.

"Do you think she's missing me too, hyung?" Taehyung asks hopefully, perking up at just the thought as he stares up at his older brother with sad puppy eyes and completely ignores Seokjin's snarky commentary in the background. Namjoon appears to be quite taken aback, looking over to Seokjin for assistance in the matter,

 _Help_ , he mouths to his husband.

 _He's_ your _brother_ , Seokjin mouths back. _You're on your own._

"Uh," Namjoon internally panics at the sudden question. He had never been too good with comforting people. "Statistically speaking- ow!"

He jerks his head back in surprise as Seokjin launches a crumpled up document paper at his head. That wasn't important information about the new policies they were proposing anyways. Probably.

"Yes," Namjoon finally says blandly to his brother to try and please his husband, sounding not in the least bit convincing.

The lack of expression in his voice doesn't seem to affect Taehyung, who smiles widely to himself at his brother's answer and nuzzles his face happily into Namjoon's thigh. "I knew it. She's so cute."

 _So are you_ , Namjoon can't help but think to himself as he grins fondly and ruffles his brother's hair lightly with his free hand. He still remembers back when they were just a couple of fox spirit pups, Taehyung always clinging needily to him no matter what they did around the castle grounds. _You shouldn't get too close to your brother_ , several of the king's advisors had warned him. _He could try and fight you for the throne_ , they said.

Namjoon made sure they were removed from their official positions the moment he was declared crown prince and heir to the throne. There was no need for advisors that needlessly pitted brothers against one another in the peaceful era they lived in.

"You should head to bed, Taehyung-ah. It's getting late." Seokjin says as he pads over to squeeze onto the couch with them, clearly having given up on doing work for the night and finding it much more productive and enjoyable to cuddle his brother in law.

"Don't wanna," Taehyung pouts.

"The sooner you go to bed, the sooner you can wake up and go see sister-in-law, isn't that right?" Seokjin cards a hand through Taehyung's hair lovingly, smiling warmly at the sound of a little happy trill emitting from the younger boy's mouth at his actions. Taehyung has been like that since the moment Seokjin met Namjoon and his friends, so easy to spoil and love. Sometimes just a little _too_ easy. It's proven to be incredibly hard to say no to anything that Taehyung set his heart on. Perhaps that's why Wheein is such a good fit for him. Despite her constant blushing state around his spoiled brother-in-law, she's quite possibly one of the only people in this world that can truly deny Taehyung of something he wants.

"That's true..." Taehyung seems to mull over his options, before remembering something that sets his lips back in a bratty pout. "But she has work. She said we can only be together and snuggle at home after her shift's over. But she's always tired after work and if she's tired then she's going to say no when I propose to her again!"

Seokjin pauses. "... Taehyung-ah?"

"Hmm?"

"Exactly... how many times have you proposed to Wheeinie?"

"How many times? One, two, three, four..." Taehyung purses his lips for a couple of seconds to think, before his face brightens. "I lost count!"

"What?!" Seokjin all but screeches. "Well no wonder she hasn't said yes yet!"

"You know why?" Taehyung perks up and clings to one of Seokjin's sleeves in excitement. "Tell me! That way next time I ask her she'll say yes!"

Seokjin shakes his head. "You should have paid better attention in your human studies instead of daydreaming about Wheein. Human society is different from the fox spirit kingdom, bub. Humans have very particular outlooks and traditions when it comes to marriage. They're constantly filled with questions of their identities and concerns for their future, especially at Wheein's current age. Something about discovering themselves and all that. Marriage oftentimes doesn't even come until a little bit later in their life, when they finally figure their lives out a little better and meet someone that they wish to dedicate themselves to for the rest of their lives, until death do they part."

"That's me!" Taehyung points at himself in a very self-assured manner.

"Yes, yes, of course," Seokjin agrees absentmindedly, before continuing his rant on the topic of the human psyche and customs. "To them, marriage is a binding social contract. Although historically it wasn't until the Enlightenment period that people actually married for love- nevermind, I'm getting off topic."

"I love it when you rant about human society," Namjoon mutters under his breath as he continues doing his work and reading through official documents, listening in on the other two's conversation every now and then. "So fucking sexy."

"Do you think Wheeinie will think I'm sexy if I tell her about human customs too?" Taehyung asks with wide eyes, clearly far too eager to learn anything from the other two that will help him win over the woman of his dreams.

"No, Taehyung," Seokjin sighs, sending a quick glare in Namjoon's direction. "Don't listen to your brother, he has the EQ of a mango. Problems of the heart like this? Only your Seokjinnie hyung can help you, alright?"

"My IQ is 148!" Namjoon protests lightly, but soon finds himself ignored.

"What I'm trying to get at," Seokjin continues. "Is that what will really impress Wheein isn't your constant proposals, that will only make it feel less special the one time she finally decides to say yes! You have to prove to her that you love her with or without something as arbitrary as marriage, that you'll be by her side regardless of the fact. That's what women want. Damn, I should become a couples' therapist, I'm good."

"Also, you don't even have a ring," Namjoon snorts to himself, mumbling the fact to himself more than anyone else. "It's not a real proposal without a ring."

"That's it!" Taehyung sits up so fast that if it weren't for Seokjin's supernatural reflexes, the two would have most certainly slammed their heads into one another and given each other concussions. His expression is filled with renewed vigor, a fire in his eyes. "How could I have forgotten?! The ring!"

"What?! Did you not hear anything I've been saying for the past-" The rest of Seokjin's sentence dies on his lips as Taehyung is suddenly scrambling off the couch with lightning speed, hurtling towards the exit.

"I know what I did wrong! You're a genius, Joon hyung!" Taehyung rambles excitedly. "I need to go to bed so I can get up early tomorrow morning and get Wheein the perfect ring! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Tae!" Namjoon calls back, eyes still trained on his work and completely unaware of his fuming husband next to him. "Well, I'm glad he was able to finally figure out the- OW! What was that for?"

* * *

Hyejin is returning home from a trip to the grocery store when she notices a tall and familiar figure sitting on the steps of her front porch.

"Taehyung!" She cheerfully greets the other with a wave as she nears her house and confirms their visitor's identity up close. "What are you doing out here? Wheein's at work at the cafe right now."

"I know," Taehyung fidgets nervously, standing up to let Hyein step past him to set down her grocery bags to unlock the door. He knows Hyejin is friendly, and she's honestly the only one out of Wheein's three housemates that he's held a conversation with for longer than a minute, but he can't help but feel slightly nervous and out of his comfort zone. Every time they had interacted before this was always when Wheein was by his side. But he had to do this without her. For them. "I came to ask you for some help."

"Trouble in paradise?" Hyejin asks with a raised eyebrow, fitting her key into the lock and turning.

Taehyung's eyes grow to the size of dinner plates. "What? No! Did- Did Wheein say we were having trouble?!"

"I was teasing, Taehyung, relax." Hyejin giggles, stepping inside the house and looking back at the other. "What are you doing still standing out there for? Come on in."

"Can I?" Taehyung asks, head slightly tilted in what almost seems like confusion.

"You're Wheein's boyfriend, of course you can come in," Hyejin states matter-of-factly. "Stop by whenever, even if Wheein's not here. Our unnies have been dying to meet you but they're always coming and going in a hurry whenever you're over. They've both got a lot on their plate right now. Would you mind bringing the groceries in with you?"

"Wh- Wheein called me her boyfriend?" Taehyung stutters, so giddy with joy that he nearly steps on a carton of eggs, quickly stopping himself and picking it up along with the other two bags. It wouldn't do to anger Wheein's best friend of all things. He could get demoted to 'guy friend' at any second if he wasn't careful.

"I mean, that's what the three of us call you when we bring you up in conversation," Hyejin says as she toes her shoes off in the foyer and helps close the front door behind Taehyung, guiding him to the kitchen so he can set down the grocery bags. "And even though Wheein blushes and whines at us about it, she never denies it. From all my years of knowing her, that's basically her putting a label on your relationship."

Taehyung can't help but grin widely at her words. "She's so cute when she's shy."

"I know," Hyejin laughs, reaching down to pick up napa cabbage to put it in the fridge. "So what did you stop by again to ask me for help with?"

"Oh yes," Taehyung blinks and clears his throat. He had nearly forgotten his original purpose of coming here. "I came to ask you to help me pick out an engagement ring for when I propose to Wheein."

Hyejin's jaw drops in disbelief.

_"What?!"_


	10. Chapter 10

"So... you're really serious about Wheein, huh?" Hyejin asks as she walks alongside Taehyung on the sidewalk, trying her best to keep up with his stride and pace. Curse tall people and their long legs, she shouldn't have to be jogging this fast while he saunters next to her like he has all the time in the world.

Taehyung nods his head furiously. "Super serious! As serious as... what was that saying you humans use again? I'm as serious as a coat rack!"

"Heart attack," Hyejin corrects him with a light laugh. "You're as serious as a heart attack."

Taehyung hums in agreement. "That too."

Hyejin shakes her head in amusement. "Sometimes I still can't believe you're the same V that Wheein took care of when we were younger. I still remember back when you were just a- er, when we thought you were just a puppy. I had always wondered why you were the only pet I wasn't allergic to back then."

"I remember you too," Taehyung grumbles with a light pout. "You used to pull on my tail and it hurt! _And_ you tried to make Wheein dress me up whenever you two had your tea parties!"

Hyejin shrugs in a carefree and unapologetic manner. "I was a kid, we're like that."

"Not Wheeinie," Taehyung shakes his head. "Wheeinie was good to me, she gave me cuddles and didn't pull my tail."

"You know she's more of a cat person now," Hyejin comments lightly as they make it to a very popular shopping district. She doesn't exactly recall there being any jewelers on this street though. "After you disappeared, Wheein said she only wanted to play with the cats at that nearby animal shelter we would always visit after school from then on. I think it was just because playing with puppies reminded her of you and made her sad."

Despite the fact that Taehyung's fox ears and tail aren't visible in public, Hyejin can all but see them droop as his entire frame deflates with a soft despondent whine. She internally panics, not realizing how strong of an effect her words would have on the fox spirit prince.

Hyejin desperately tries to wrack her brain for something to say in order to bring the mood back up. The last thing she needs at the moment is for Wheein's boyfriend to go crying back to her best friend after she tried to spend time alone with him and get to know him better (and apparently help him pick out an engagement ring, but at this point Hyejin isn't all that surprised by that detail as much as she should be anymore). "B-But hey! Here you are now, back in her life! It, uh... Guess it doesn't matter whether or not she's a dog or cat person now because she has you again, right? And, uh, I won't pull your tail anymore, yeah! I've learned my lesson and have sworn off tail-pulling for the rest of my life."

"You have?" Taehyung peers down at her with wide and hopeful eyes.

Hyejin nods as seriously as she can despite how ridiculous she feels having to say all this just to keep her friend's boyfriend happy. His puppy eyes give Wheein a serious run for her money though, no wonder her friend told her that he was a known as a spoiled brat in the fox spirit realm. With those expressions, it's a miracle Wheein can even tell the boy no as often as she does. "But of course! No more tail pulling for me, I'm clean nowadays. Promise."

Hyejin doesn't bother telling Taehyung that he's the only creature she was ever able to get close enough to without her allergies sending her into a sneezing fit, making him her only tail pulling victim.

"Good," Taehyung's expression brightens, his lips stretching into a wide boxy grin that practically radiates sunshine and rainbows and- god, this has to be some sort of supernatural effect, Hyejin still can't believe Wheein is dating a goddamn _fox spirit prince_ , even after seeing the ears and the tail and hearing her friend's recap of her kidnapping and time spent in their kingdom. "Oh, we're here!"

"Huh?" Hyejin looks up with a wrinkle of confusion in her eyebrows as she reads the sign hanging out in front of the building they're standing. _Red Velvet's Candy Shop_. "But this is- hey, wait! Taehyung!"

Hyejin groans internally as she watches Taehyung all but sprint through the doors, nearly knocking over a pair of kids in the process. She feels like a babysitter more than anything at the moment as she hurries inside to make sure Taehyung doesn't do anything that would warrant them getting kicked out or blacklisted from the place. To her relief, Taehyung isn't terrorizing anyone just yet, simply pressing his face against the glass displays in awe as he stares wide-eyed at all the options.

"I haven't been in here in so long," Hyejin mutters to herself under her breath as she scans the shelves of sugary delights, a wave of nostalgia washing over her as she recalls all the times she and Wheein would visit this very candy shop as children, peering at the large variety of treats and if they were lucky enough to have several thousand won from their parents, purchase some for themselves.

"Found it!" Taehyung's excited voice rings from a nearby corner, his figure hopping up and down in excitement as he beckons Hyejin over to where he's standing. "This is why I brought you here with me to help choose a ring, there's just too many options!"

Hyejin looks down. "You brought me here... to help you choose a ring pop for Wheein?"

"My hyung told me that a proposal isn't a real proposal without a ring," Taehyung states matter-of-factly, his chest puffing in far too much pride as he quotes his smart yet equally dense brother. "And then it hit me that Wheeinie loved the rings here! But everytime she used to come home with them they'd be different colors, so I thought that as her best friend you would know which one is her favorite!"

Hyejin takes in a deep breath, debating whether to break down in a fit of laughter on the floor or inform Taehyung that just because Wheein used to like ring pops as a child it does _not_ mean that she wants her engagement ring to be candy on a plastic ring. She decides to do neither of those options and instead lets out a shaky exhale, forcing herself not to laugh with every ounce of willpower in her system. "Well, um, her favorite fruit is mangos? Let's maybe see if they have that flavor."

The happy smile that graces Taehyung's face tells Hyejin that she made the right choice.

That same day, Wheein gets a text halfway through her shift at the cafe.

"And what did we learn today?" Wheein asks in an almost teacher-like tone, stroking Taehyung's hair as the fox spirit prince lays his head in her lap on the couch and clutches at his stomach with regret.

"Too much sugar is bad for my tummy," Taehyung murmurs sadly, the effects of his inevitable sugar crash clearly still reaping consequences in the boy's digestive tract.

"That's right," Wheein lets out a resigned sigh. "Why were you and Hyejin at _Red Velvet's_ to begin with?"

"Wanted to get you a ring," Taehyung confesses shyly, reaching into his back pocket and procuring a delicately wrapped ring pop. The sight of the amber colored candy in his hand stirs up a flurry of emotions and old childhood memories in Wheein, and she suddenly gets a strong but silly urge to cry. "Wanted to propose to you with your favorite mango flavored ring like Namjoon hyung told me to."

"Oh, Tae..."

"But then Hyejinnie told me that this isn't a proper ring for marriage," Taehyung pouts, still sounding mildly delirious after his high from all the candy he ingested several hours ago. "Said it would make a better promise ring. I hope you like it."

"I... I love it, Taehyung, really." Wheein blinks rapidly in an attempt to force down the tears stinging at the back of her eyes. All these years, and he still remembered. "You seriously dragged her all the way to that candy shop so she could help you pick out the right ring pop for me?"

"Of course," Taehyung mutters sleepily, his fox ears twitching happily atop his head as Wheein continues carding her hand through his hair in a soothing manner. "So you know that I'm as serious as a coat rack about you."

"A heart attack," Wheein giggles softly, her heart warming at his words. "As serious as a heart attack."

"Hyejin says when I give you the ring I gotta promise you something," Taehyung continues. "I promise to cuddle you lots when you're sad and hug you lots when you're happy. A- And I promise to love you forever and ever and never disappear from your side again! Even if you're not a dog person anymore. Will you accept my ring, Wheeinie?"

"Of course I will, Tae," Wheein smiles softly, reaching over to take the ring from Taehyung's hand and gently unwrap the ring pop from its plastic casing, slipping it onto her index finger and holding it in front of his face. "What do you think?"

"Looks pretty because you're wearing it," Taehyung grins in satisfaction, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out another ring pop, this one a reddish pink color. "This one's for you to give to me! It's strawberry flavored."

Wheein can't help but shake her head in amusement, but unwraps this ring pop as well, slipping it onto Taehyung's pinky finger, the only one of his fingers the ring pop (that was originally created for children) will fit on. "I, uh... I promise to visit you and your friends at the fox spirit realm more often from now on, and learn more about the history and background of your kingdom. I also promise to be by your side when you need it the most-"

"But that's always!"

"Don't interrupt me!" Wheein clears her throat, praying that whichever one of her housemates that are still here in their own rooms can't hear the two of them in the living room. "Anyways, I... I promise to never stop caring for you, whether you like it or not. I promise to do my best to give you the Wheein you deserve."

Taehyung shifts his head so that he can nuzzle into Wheein's midriff with a fond expression on his face. "You'll always be the Wheeinie I love and deserve, no matter what."

The words leave Wheein's mouth before her brain even registers them. "Promise?"

Taehyung reaches up to clink their ring pops together. His gesture is enough.

 _"Promise_. _"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please visit https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ for resources regarding the black lives matter movement! even without money, signing petitions are FREE and there are youtube playlists of videos you can stream whose ad revenue will be donated to the cause!
> 
> it's important to understand that both bts and mamamoo's music discography draws from many music genres that were PIONEERED by african americans (rnb, hip hop, etc.) and without inspirations like beyonce and rihanna, it's unlikely that we would be able to watch ahn hyejin perform on stage today. if you support and love these two amazing groups, you cannot let the mistreatment and injustice of african americans and black people all around the world go unheard. this is my plead and call to action for all of you. #blacklivesmatter
> 
> reminder: educate yourself. be vocal. take actions beyond your words. this isn't an us vs them issue. this is a human rights issue. no one should have to fear for their life due to the color of their skin.


	11. Chapter 11

"My lady?"

"Hmm?" Wheein looks up from the book she's reading to see one of the east wing maids nervously standing before her. "Oh, Simyeong! What can I do for you?"

Simyeong's face flushes under Wheein's gaze. "I'm- I'm terribly sorry to bother you right now, but his Highness has been asking for you again."

Wheein lets out a deep sigh. "He's in his study now, isn't he?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Just Wheein is fine, Simyeong-ah," Wheein waves her hand around nonchalantly. "I'm just a guest here, after all. In the human world, I'm nowhere close to nobility."

"I wouldn't dare!" Simyeong shakes her head furiously. "Everyone in the palace is aware of his Highness's affections towards you, my lady. It would be terribly disrespectful of me to address Prince Taehyung's betrothed by her name and not by an appropriate title, regardless of your status."

"Betrothed?!" Wheein almost chokes on her spit. It's bad enough Seokjin is always dragging her around the palace calling her 'sister-in-law' when others are around, now it's spread to the palace staff?! She honestly shouldn't be surprised at this point. "We're not betrothed! Who started that rumor? Was it Seokjin oppa again?!"

The way Simyeong avoids her questioning gaze is answer enough.

"That little-" Wheein huffs in frustration and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Is Taehyung calling for me because he's finished his work for the day or because he 'misses me'?"

Simyeong gnaws on her bottom lip anxiously. She knows all too well from previous experience how the rest of this conversation is going to go based on her own answer "The latter, my lady."

Wheein rolls her eyes. This isn't the first time Taehyung's tried to pull this stunt. "I hate to put you in this position every time, but would you mind returning to his study and informing him that I won't be seeing him until he finishes all the work his father assigned him? Yoongi oppa told me that they're on a very strict deadline at the moment and that Taehyung's participation and focus are essential for success."

"I'll notify his Highness right away," Simyeong can only curtsy in defeat and miserably make her way back to Taehyung's personal study as she has done far too many times in the past, leaving the library as quietly as she came.

Wheein can only sigh and shake her head, before returning her attention back to the open book sitting on her lap. It's only been several months since her first visit to the fox spirit realm and the ring pop fiasco, yet some things seem to never change. Staying true to her promise, Wheein has been making time in her schedule to visit the palace every now and then, familiarizing herself with the history of their kingdom and other aspects of fox spirit culture, whether it be by reading books from the palace library or chatting with whoever's free when she's around.

Yoongi, as well as some of the other palace officials, all seem to love taking advantage of her presence when she is here as a way to encourage Taehyung to finish his work, lest he be forced to watch as someone else shows her around the kingdom while he's locked up in his study doing paperwork. Despite their efforts, Taehyung still tends to procrastinate all his work until the day she does visit, though he never fails to try and come up with some excuse or find some way to try and spend time with Wheein before he's done. His latest trick has been sending Simyeong to seek out Wheein wherever she is around the palace and request her presence under the false pretense of some sort of urgent manner. After falling for the ruse the first several times, Wheein soon caught on to his ploy and has refused to see him until he completes his assigned work ever since.

Of course, that doesn't really ever stop him from employing other tactics.

Wheein senses him nearby before she actually sees him, the baby hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She sticks a bookmark Namjoon had gifted to her a month or two ago (the gesture had made Taehyung far too jealous at the time) into the book she's reading and shuts it close with a huff. "I know you're here, Tae. Now you've made me send poor Simyeongie back for nothing."

She spots an all too familiar white fluffy tail briefly poke out from behind a bookcase several meters away from where Wheein is sitting, before Taehyung finally peeks his head out with a pout at being caught so quickly. "How did you know I was here?! I even masked my presence so the guards outside my study couldn't sense me sneaking out!"

Wheein shrugs. It's not as though Taehyung's fox spirit powers _don't_ work on her like those silly fantasy romance novels she used to read back in high school. The first time he had used his telekinesis to levitate a tray of scones from her kitchen over to where they were curled up cuddling in the living room, Yongsun, who had been meal prepping in the kitchen, had been so shocked that all she could let out was a shrill shriek in surprise before passing out right then and there.

Taehyung was banned from using his supernatural abilities in the human world shortly after that incident.

Despite having even been the victim of Taehyung's telekinesis ability once or twice in the past ("I just couldn't wait to hug you!" had been his excuse at the time), Wheein just seems to have developed a sixth sense or sorts when it comes to Taehyung. It's not like she had incredible instincts or heightened senses like most fox spirits do, she just.... knows him.

She narrows her eyes at the guilty looking prince standing in front of her. "Since you had to sneak out, that means you haven't finished your work yet, right?"

Taehyung immediately panics at her words and their implications, hurrying over to the lounge chair she's sitting on to squeeze next to her. He's already got his puppy eyes ready, hugging his white fluffy tail to himself as he tries to look as cute and pitiful and convincing as impossible. "I'm almost done, I swear! I just- I couldn't focus because I wanted to see you so bad, don't call the guards, Wheein-ah. I'm just taking a break, I'll be done by the end of today. Promise!"

Wheein presses her lips tightly together, already beginning to sense that she's fighting a losing battle as soon as Taehyung grabs her hand and places it enthusiastically on his head, looking up at her with those hopeful puppy eyes. She can't help but internally groan to herself as her fingers start to move on autopilot, gently scratching at the base of his fox ears just the way he likes. The adorable, happy trill that escapes from his mouth at the feeling only serves to melt away what little resolve Wheein had left and she lets out a long sigh in defeat.

She's grown too weak to his wiles over these past few months. At this rate, he'll have her wrapped around his finger just like everyone else. The procrastinating side of her decides that this is a problem future Wheein can deal with due to the strong temptation currently sitting before her: cuddles with Taehyung.

"C'mere," she grumbles begrudgingly, shifting to allow him more room on the lounge chair so he can lay his head in her lap and nuzzle his face happily into her stomach in victory. "I should just have someone send me a text if you aren't done with your work and cancel my visit if you haven't finished from now on."

"Noooo," Taehyung whines, shaking his head adamantly in disagreement. "If you don't come visit me then I'll come visit you! I'll run away from the palace forev- ow!"

"Don't even think about it!" Wheein hisses in a scolding tone, pinching him in the side. "Don't say things like that, Tae, think about your family and friends. Wouldn't they be so sad if you did something like that?"

"Yoongi hyung might throw a party," Taehyung grumbles jokingly.

"You know he wouldn't do that," Wheein chides the other sternly. "Why can't you just finish your work before I arrive, huh? Hoseok oppa had to walk with me around the gardens to make sure I didn't get lost instead of you earlier today."

"Don't like doing work," Taehyung pouts. "Just wanna spend time with you instead."

Wheein pinches at the bridge of her nose in frustration. "If you don't do your work, then you aren't allowed to spend time with me."

"Don't most people typically like it when their significant other gives up their work to spend time with them?" Taehyung's brow furrows in confusion. "Isn't that what all the romance novels are like nowadays?"

"That's typically only the case when the significant other is actually busy or a workaholic! You just don't do your work ever!" Wheein argues. "And why were you reading those in the first place?"

Taehyung presses his lips together nervously, not wanting to reveal the fact that he had been reading through the books to research ways on how to woo and successfully propose to someone. He doesn't want Wheein to think he's unoriginal in his romancing ways.

Wheein seems to sense his sudden unwillingness to continue the conversation and sighs, carding her hair lightly through his hair. "Tae, there's more to being a prince than doing whatever you want whenever you want. Just look at Namjoon oppa, how many meetings he has to attend, how much he works to learn about how to run your kingdom smoothly. Even if you aren't going to be the king in the future, he's going to need your help to make the fox spirit realm a better place. Yes, you have a lot of status and power and money, but with that comes even more responsibility."

"I don't like the pressure," Taehyung murmurs sadly, gently playing with Wheein's fingers as he speaks. "They always had so many expectations for me, always had something more for me to do to beat Namjoonie hyung. I didn't want to beat him, just wanted to play with him. That's why I ran away when I was younger, where I met you. I like being with you because you never had any expectations for me, Wheeinie. You just accepted and cared for me regardless, made me feel free for once in my life."

Wheein's gaze softens and her heart clenches at the realization that perhaps she doesn't know Taehyung as much or as well as she thought. The real question is, is it because he never tried to tell her, or because she never tried to ask? He was always the one pushing in their relationship, always the one asking her questions and doing things for her simply because he thought of her. But what had she been doing all this time? Wasn't it time she tried to push back? "I'm sorry, Tae. I... I never saw it that way. That was pretty terrible of me to do as your girlfriend, huh? I should've thought of you more."

"You're not terrible, you're the best!" Taehyung insists. "You always make time for me after your work, and you bake me cookies and always know how to scratch my ears just right! Your cuddles are the best and- and you just want me to finish my work because you don't want my hyungs to yell at me. You're always encouraging me to do my best even though it leaves you alone around the palace sometimes because you know Namjoon hyung and Yoongi hyung and all the other officials will be proud of me."

Wheein's bottom lip trembles at his words. How is it that despite all his silly antics, despite all his hidden hardships and burdens he somehow always knows the right thing to say to her? "I really don't know what I did to deserve you, Taehyung."

Taehyung's eyes crinkle with all the affection and warmth in the world as he stares fondly back up at her, almost like a reminder that all he sees, all he's really ever seen, is her and only her.

"I could say the same thing." 


	12. Chapter 12

"Will it hurt?" Taehyung flinches ever so slightly as Wheein unscrews the top off of the small glass bottle between her hands, the sharp scent of acetone immediately filling the air. He wrinkles his nose in mild displeasure at the strong smell. It seems having enhanced senses can have its downsides. "It smells like it'll hurt."

Wheein laughs at the way Taehyung's face is all scrunched up. "How can something smell like it will hurt?"

"Just does," Taehyung grumbles lightly, watching as his girlfriend swipes the small brush attached to the cap around the lip of the small bottle. "What are you doing?"

"I'm wiping off all the excess polish so I don't accidentally get it on your skin." Wheein sets the bottle down on the coffee table to her right. They're both sitting cross legged and facing one another on the couch in her living room on a Saturday evening.

Taehyung had been insisting all day long that Wheein let him participate in whatever she was doing, whether it be preparing meals, watching a show, even showering (Wheein turned down that idea before Taehyung had even gotten the chance to finish his "I'll come with you!"). And now, she was going to get her revenge in the form of a manicure.

She reaches her hand out to him. "Give me your hand."

Taehyung doesn't even hesitate despite all his worrying and whining just seconds ago, eagerly grasping Wheein's small hand in his own and interlacing their fingers together. The boxy little smile he sends her just about melts Wheein's heart and she almost forgets her plan of vengeance just like that. She can't help but giggle at the sad pout that works its way onto his face as she unlaces their fingers and clasps his hand gently, holding his nails up to her line of sight.

His forearm trembles with a slight trace of confusion as Wheein brushes the first layer of lavender nail polish over his closest fingernail. "W-What are you doing?"

"Painting your nails," Wheein blinks up at him innocently. "You wanted to do everything with me today, didn't you?"

"Oh, I guess," Taehyung decides there doesn't seem to be anything strange about her logic, his brow furrowing in heavy concentration as he watches Wheein finish the first coat of polish on one hand and then the other. "Can I paint your nails too?"

"If you want," Wheein hums happily, blowly lightly at his nails to help them dry a bit quicker. Taehyung's fox ears twitch at the feeling, his nose wrinkling once again as the smell of nail polish wafts past him once again. He still isn't too fond of the smell, but he supposes this is just another one of those sacrifices that he needs to make to prove his devotion to her just like the male character does in the most recent romance novel he's read for research. It's quiet as Wheein applies another layer or two, their long abandoned Netflix show playing on the TV in the background. "Okay, once this last top coat is dry, you're done. What do you think?"

Taehyung wiggles his fingers carefully as he peers down at the almost finished product, doing his best to ensure he doesn't accidentally bump into anything. The feeling of several coats of nail polish feels rather odd on his normally bare fingernails, but something about the soft purple color that shines back up at him makes him feel all warm and happy inside. Reminds him of home. His gaze is full of affection as he smiles back at his girlfriend. "I love it."

"What color do you want to paint on my nails?" Wheein reaches down into her bag sitting in her lap full of other colored nail polish bottles and picks out a random bottle or two to show Taehyung that he has other options to choose from.

"Want the same color as mine," Taehyung points at the nail polish bottle still sitting on the coffee table. "So we can be matching. And I want the black polish too for me to add decorations afterwards."

"It's your first time painting someone's nails and you're already going for extra decorations at the end?" Wheein raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Of course!" Taehyung's chest puffs out with confidence. "I'll make sure you have the prettiest nails ever!"

"Okay, I trust you," Wheein giggles, her gaze fond as she watches Taehyung embark on his very important project.

She can't help but bite her lower lip in amusement as she watches him practically break out into a sweat applying the first coat of purple nail polish. His tongue is stuck outside the corner of his mouth as he swipes the tiny brush across her thumbnail with more concentration than he's most likely ever applied to his actual work back in the palace. The sad whine that slips from his lips as he accidentally smudges a bit of polish off her fingernail and onto her skin almost breaks her heart, and she's quick to reach over and wipes it away with a cotton swab in order to console him.

"What are you doing?" Wheein asks him as she frantically waves her hands back and forth in the air to help dry his third and final coat of the purple on her nails. He's turned away from her at the moment, doing something in secret with the bottle of black nail polish.

He spins around before she gets the chance to peer over his shoulder to take a peek. "Nothing! Just practicing. I want it to be a surprise, so you have to close your eyes until I'm done, okay?"

"Alright," Wheein agrees easily, her eyes slipping shut as she feels Taehyung begin to work once again. If his design ends up too terribly ugly, she can always just use nail polish remover or something.

Taehyung starts to hum softly to himself as he works his magic, a soothing sound that nearly puts Wheein to sleep as she listens to his sweet melody. It oddly enough reminds her of a quote she had come across the other day while browsing through the internet.

"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear." - Oscar Wilde

Wheein isn't even sure when it happened, when Taehyung suddenly became the only song that she could hear. She wonders if he feels the same way, hopes that his constant affection and rather blind devotion is more than because she's the one that saved him all those years ago. She wants him to care for who she is now, rather than an idea of who she might have been in the past.

"I'm done!"

It takes a moment before Wheein blearily opens her eyes, too lost in her thoughts and the dream state Taehyung's humming had put her in. The first thing she sees is Taehyung's bright smiling face. His legs bounce up and down in excitement. "Look!"

Wheein glances down, her eyes furrowing in confusion when she sees an upside down T on her left thumbnail but an upside down heart on her right thumbnail. As she stretches her fingers out and finds that the other letters painted onto her nails are upside down from her current angle as well, she starts to piece things together. After curling all her fingers in towards her palms, she can finally read what decoration has been left on her manicure.

T A E H Y U N G ~ ♡

Wheein doesn't know whether to laugh or dunk her hands in a bucket of nail polish remover. "You put your own name on my nails for decoration?!"

"Mmhmm!" Taehyung nods eagerly, looking far too proud of his accomplishment. "That way whenever you miss me, you can look at your nails and remember that I'll always return to your side no matter what!"

"I-" Wheein's original plan of protest is immediately knocked back by his words. She groans internally. There's not much he can do nowadays that she can truly resist, not when he gives her that fond look and smiles at her like that. A conman, that's what he is. She's been fighting a losing battle from the night she answered the door at 4 AM. "Well... I guess it's not fair that only one of us has it, right?"

"You're right!" Taehyung's eyes widen as he hands the bottle of black nail polish over to Wheein. "You have to write your name on mine, too!"

Wheein can't help but shake her head in amusement as she complies.

Perhaps Taehyung has always heard the song she's been singing, and she's the one that figured it out too late, that never bothered to listen until now. Either way, as she watches the way Taehyung's face lights up upon seeing the characters of her name painted onto his nails, she has no doubts that one day, they'll be able to hear the exact same mellifluous song, _their song_ , together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's the end of mellifluous! there will be a little epilogue coming your way but thank you so much to everyone that read this and i hope you all enjoyed! this was a highkey self indulgent fic where i channeled my love for soft content and wheetae so it has a bit of a chaotic energy to it but i hope it was still fun to read! please stay safe and healthy and happy friday <3


	13. Chapter 13

Wheein lets out an exasperated but fond huff at the sound of her cell phone vibrating on her office desk, pausing the report she was just about to finish typing up to reach over and pick up her phone. She takes a quick glance at the time displayed in the corner of her computer screen. 5:10 PM. There can only be one person calling her at this time of day. A peek at the name displayed across her lit up phone screen when she presses the answer button only confirms her guess. "Hello?"

"You're late."

Wheein can't help but smile at the familiar whining tone that sounds in her ears. She can practically see the other's pout from their side of the line. "I lost track of time finishing this report, sorry Tae. Give me five more minutes and I'll be downstairs in no time."

"Can't I just take the elevator up and join you?" Taehyung's pleading tone almost crumbles Wheein's original resolve, until she recalls what happened the last time he 'took the elevator up and joined her'. She ended up working overtime that entire weekend just to meet her deadline instead.

"I'm not going to get any work done if you come up," Wheein sighs, shaking her head at the memory despite the fact that no one can actually see her actions. "You're too good of a distraction. You can head back if you need to Tae, I'll meet you back at the apartment."

"Wanted to walk you home," comes Taehyung's soft grumble. "Gonna wait down here."

Wheein can't help but soften at his words and resolve. "Alright, I'll be down as soon as I submit this report, okay? Promise."

"Okay."

She doesn't hang up on their call, opting instead to set her phone back down on the office desk to continue her work. They've long grown accustomed to comfortable silences over the past few years of their relationship and Wheein knows by now that Taehyung would much rather listen to the quiet clicks of her fingers dancing across the keyboard than just loiter around the first floor of her office building's lobby by himself. He was like that whenever they were at home too, happy with just being able to rest his head in her lap and simply being with her while they did something as mundane as read or scroll through their phones together.

Several minutes of furious typing and almost forgetting to save her entire document later, she's finally able to submit her last report of the week and log off, packing up her personal belongings and muttering a brief 'coming' into the phone before finally hanging up and tucking the device into her jacket pocket. Most of her colleagues have already headed home since it's a Friday, and she waves goodbye to one of the housekeeping staff before stepping into the elevator by herself.

The moment the doors part once again on the first floor, a figure darts in with lightning speed and pulls Wheein into a tight embrace, happily nuzzling their face into her hair. "Missed you."

Wheein quickly shuffles out of the elevator before the doors close once more, still awkwardly tucked in the other's embrace. They finally let go of her and the first thing she's greeted with is a beaming Taehyung. She glances left and right to make sure there's no one in the nearby vicinity watching, before standing up on her tiptoes to gently peck his left cheek. "Missed you too."

Taehyung's grin grows impossibly wider as he eagerly interlaces their fingers in an ever so familiar manner, lightly tugging her out of the building and onto the streets of downtown Seoul.

It's hard for Wheein to sometimes believe how much time has flown by since the fox spirit prince walking next to her barged back into her life. She no longer lives in the flat with her other three friends, and instead in an apartment closer to her workplace for more privacy and convenience. She's long quit her job at the cafe where Taehyung so unabashedly declared his love for her in front of all their customers back when he didn't know any better, now employed full time (much to Taehyung's horror and dismay) at a big brand company and doing well for herself. Despite all the rather nerve-wracking changes over the past few years in her life, the one thing that hasn't changed is her and Taehyung.

And it's something Wheein can't help but be grateful for almost every day. It had been harder than expected sometimes, adjusting to truly living on her own in a new environment. But then there would be Taehyung, popping in with Seokjin and everyone else she had grown close with from the fox spirit kingdom to throw her an impromptu housewarming party or simply texting her picture of the little doodles he would always scribble around the margins of his own work at the palace whenever he was bored (read: always), complaining about how much he missed her and wished she was there to give him cuddles.

She isn't the only one that became more busy between the two of them. Despite his usual childish demeanor, Wheein's presence had helped Taehyung take his position and work more seriously than he had back when they first met. Whenever she visited him at the palace on her off days or over the weekend, more often than not she would catch him hard at work when it was needed, his tongue peeking out of the corner out of his mouth in concentration as he would mutter, "This is for Namjoon hyung. Gotta make it look good for Namjoon hyung."

"How was your trip?" Wheein asks him, swinging their interlocked hands between them happily as they stroll down the slightly crowded sidewalk. The first few times Taehyung started walking her home from her new workplace, they kept getting stopped by talent agencies trying to scout Taehyung as a model of some sorts.

Much to her embarrassment, Taehyung's first reaction was to always try and recommend them to her instead, insisting that 'Wheeinie's the prettiest! You'll never find someone more beautiful than her!'. Wheein now took off into a dead sprint anytime someone so much as tried to approach them on the streets.

"It was alright," Taehyung hums in mild disinterest. Namjoon had gone on a trip through the entire kingdom to experience life in all regions to gain understanding of the people and to make sure his policies were beneficial to their citizens, taking along his usual entourage of Seokjin, Yoongi, as well as Taehyung to ensure his younger brother understood the weight their governing and work in the palace had on the people of the fox spirit realm. While Taehyung had nothing against the trip itself, quite enjoying the chance to explore many places across the kingdom he had never seen before, it had taken an entire week. Meaning he had essentially been separated from Wheein for an entire week. "Would have been better if you had come."

"You know I would've if it weren't for that deadline I had," Wheein sighs. She had actually been extremely eager to take a week off to learn more about the world outside of the palace in the fox spirit realm, but unfortunately work life always manages to get in the way somehow. "How about next time I have a holiday we go exploring ourselves? You can show me around since you've already been there."

Taehyung brightens up considerably at that idea. "I know exactly where to take you!"

"It's not another one of your romantic hotspots for proposals again, is it?" Wheein questions teasingly. "Romantic novels aren't always right, you know."

"I stopped reading those years ago," Taehyung whines in embarrassment, his lips jutting out in a pout at the memory. "And I haven't tried to propose to you in forever too! You're just making fun of me now."

"I am," Wheein laughs, reaching over with her free hand to pinch his cheek lightly. "You're just so cute and fun to tease nowadays."

"You weren't like this when we first met again," Taehyung grumbles, his face still flushed a light pink. "Back then it was always you blushing and getting flustered by my romantic advances."

"I was not!" Wheein protests vehemently, though her far too defensive tone says it all. "I was only flustered because you used to propose to me every other day and try to declare your love for me to anyone in the vicinity despite us barely knowing each other at the time."

"I knew enough." Taehyung states firmly. "It was always you."

They reach her apartment building complex, taking a quick detour to the nearby park. It's finally spring, and the cherry blossom trees lining the walkways have been scattering pink petals across the ground all day. The sight is just too pretty for Wheein to resist, so she's been dragging Taehyung along to admire the blooming cherry blossoms just about everyday since they appeared.

"Is that a fox spirit thing? Knowing who's the one? Soulmates and all that?" Now that she's thought about it, Wheein has never asked him about the like. For her, it was always best not to ask too many questions in regards to the supernatural, even if she was dating a fox spirit prince of all things. Of course, that didn't mean she wouldn't ask Taehyung to work a little bit of his telekinesis to their advantage whenever she wanted him to win her a toy at the occasional festival. He had the powers, might as well let him use them for some good.

"No," Taehyung shakes his head. "We're free to choose who we love, and of course there will be a divorce every now and then in the community, but I think it means a lot for a fox spirit to give their heart away. It's not something we do easily."

"With how often you were proposing to me, it definitely didn't seem like you had a hard time trying to give your heart away," Wheein snorts in amusement.

Taehyung softly whines from the back of his throat once again. "That's different! You... You're special, Wheein. Even back when I wasn't in my human form and you mistook me for a puppy, you had always felt like home to me. I think part of me was scared you wouldn't feel the same way, that's why I wanted to try and marry you as quickly as I could. But now..."

"Now?" Wheein raises an eyebrow.

"I learned that maybe humans aren't as silly as I thought they were," Taehyung pauses and turns to look at Wheein, reaching over to softly brush several stray cherry blossom petals out of her hair. "Seokjin hyung used to tell me a lot of things about marriage, said it was a sham."

"He's married to your brother though," Wheein points out.

"He said that was just a formality because apparently it's inappropriate for the king to keep a life partner by his side during rule without any legal ties. Seokjin hyung also said those policies were outdated and bullshit and that he was going to get Yoongi hyung to create a draft to change the policy as soon as he got a break from their other work."

Wheein laughs. "Of course he did."

"Anyways," Taehyung looks up into the sky to recollect his thoughts. "I think I was always a little worried, but I'm not anymore. I don't know when it happened but I've decided that we don't need to get married."

"Why not?"

Taehyung's eyes crinkle happily. "Because I have you and you have me. And that's all I need. I love you so much that I don't fear the future anymore as long as you're with me."

And maybe it was his words from the heart, maybe it was the way the gentle breeze around them stirred a nearby cherry blossom tree and sent a shower of petals fluttering around them just like in those cliche romance novels that Taehyung used to always read up on, but it was in that moment that Wheein knew.

"Marry me."

"I- What?!" Taehyung blinks, his entire person frozen in shock.

"Marry me." Wheein repeats. "I'm proposing to you."

"We- But I just said we don't need to get married, why..."

"Because," Wheein gently clasps both of Taehyung's hands in her grasp, never more sure of a decision in her life. "The fact that just us is enough, nothing more or less, that's all I could ever want for, Taehyung. That means more to me than any certificate of marriage ever could. So now I want to meet you halfway."

"This... I wasn't expecting this," Taehyung murmurs to himself in disbelief.

"You can say no if you'd like," Wheein laughs. "I've turned your proposals down more times than I can count, it's only fair. And even if you do, nothing about us will change. It'll still just be you and me."

"Is this another test of my devotion to you?" Taehyung asks nervously. "Is there a right answer?"

Wheein shakes her head with a giggle. "No, I promise. Now will you marry me or not?"

Taehyung bites his lower lip nervously for a moment, deep in thought, before finally giving her his answer. "No?"

Wheein snorts. "Why did that sound like a question?"

"Because I still think you're testing me," Taehyung pouts.

"I'm not," Wheein shakes her head in amusement. "Now c'mon. You proposed, I said no. I proposed, you said no. And now this is the part where we spend the rest of our lives together, happily unmarried."

"Just like that?"

Wheein nods, murmuring three last words before leaning in to give Taehyung a reassuring kiss. A modern day promise of everlasting love under the blooming springtime cherry blossom trees.

_"Just like that."_

_**"In my dreams, I heard your mellifluous voice** _

_**It slowly woke me up from a deep sleep** _

_**so that I could enjoy the magnificence of life."** _

_**\- Debasish Mridha** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's it for mellifluous! thank you all for reading and showing this story love and support <3 feel free to read my other wheetae oneshots in my four season's series or for more immediate update, you can find me on wattpad under the same username!

**Author's Note:**

> another crossposted btsmoo fic from wattpad! i'm so so soft for wheetae all the time lol  
> hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and happy wednesday!
> 
> Less than three,  
> PalmerPie


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